The Ten-Dollar Lunch
A parent in my son's preschool group chat tagged me out of nowhere.
"Theo's dad, your son's lunches always look pretty nice. Starting tomorrow, pack one for my daughter too."
"I'm not asking for free food. I'll give you ten dollars a day. That adds up. You can make a little extra on the side."
I stared at the message, almost laughing from how absurd it was.
My son has severe food sensitivities and a fragile stomach. Every ingredient in his meals is specially sourced, and a single lunch costs far more than five hundred dollars to prepare.
And this man thought ten dollars could buy it?
I replied with two words: "Not happening."
The next day, my son came home crying. His lunch had been taken by another child, and the teacher had scolded him for being selfish.
Fine.
Since they wanted to push this far, I would show them exactly how far I could go.