The Joys of Eating Alone

During the last two session's of Little Man's practice days with the kleuterschool, I have discovered something unexpectedly wonderful. At his school, children eat lunch in the classroom. Which means that I am eating lunch. Alone. And it is glorious.

It's been a while since I've eaten a lunch without the Little Man around. Anyone who has eaten a meal with kids has probably experienced something like this: You make some sort of sandwich as fast as you can for the person that decided they are STARVING once they saw you take out the ingredients, and get it on the table before they pounce. Once that's done, you try to make something for yourself even faster because somehow the child is already almost done eating. Then, you eat like a bird.

And by eat like a bird, I don't mean small, dainty little bites picking here and there. I mean you put a whole sandwich in your mouth and pull it down without chewing. Like the way an owl eats. And in case you've never seen an owl eat:

Not terribly majestic, is it?

I've now had a couple of chances to eat by myself, and it has been surprisingly relaxing. I can take my time. I can chew. And I don't have to defend any part of my sandwich.

Do you know what's unique about this picture of my sandwich?
There's no little hand looming over the sandwich, ready to strike.

I'm glad Little Man is enjoying school, and I'm happy to see him at the end of the day. But I think I'm going to get used to eating on my own again.

Did you discover something great about your kids starting/going back to school? Or is there one thing you can't wait to be able to do once the kids are in school?