The 128 most classic philosophical essays in the world

Chapter 103 The Lunch Box Filled With Love
[US] Ann Beers

"Go ahead," a voice whispered to me, "it's not too late."

In the early 20s, my husband and I had two girls.The two children are gentle and quiet, with a difference of two years in age.I put in a lot of time, energy, enthusiasm, and of course patience, taking on the role of a confident, relatable mother.

We had another set of twin boys when the girls were almost 8 and 6 years old.These two little guys are lively and active, noisy all day long, naughty and willful.My eldest daughter, Julia, became my faithful helper.She helped me fold piles of diapers, played with my two younger brothers, and told them stories while I cooked.I can rely on her with confidence, but maybe I am too hard for her.

My two daughters and I used to drink tea and frolic leisurely and happily under the weeping willows, enjoying a carefree and good time.But all of that was suddenly gone forever.The gentle, loving mother slowly turns into a weary, disciplined woman.Sometimes because of overwork, I can only cry silently.Whenever Julia saw me like this, she tried harder to help me.She never complained a word.

I didn't know how much Julia had been hurt until she was older and married.One day, she smiled and asked me: "Mom, do you still remember the lunch you brought to school for me? At that time, all my classmates packed their lunch in beautiful and exquisite lunch boxes. I really wish I could have a lunch with them. The same lunch boxes. Do you know how awkward it is for me to eat with them? Those colorful lunch boxes filled with delicious food that their mother made for them."

I moved forward and our faces slowly approached, and I stared at my daughter intently.Julia, as if she were a child again, said: "Jenny's lunches are always the best. Her delicate sandwiches are often cut in half, sometimes triangles, rounds and packed in little plastic bags. And she has carrots that are perfectly washed! For the holidays she gets a neatly folded napkin. Her mom makes cookies in the shape of a 'heart' and writes her name on it."

"When it's cold, Claire's thermos will have hot soup or hot cocoa tea. In addition, the mothers of classmates will put some notes in their children's lunch boxes..."

I was fascinated, and Julia went on:

"Mom, sometimes you throw a few unwashed and unpeeled carrots into a big cardboard bag, spread peanut butter on two pieces of hard bread, and throw in a wilted apple and a crumbled Little biscuits. I spent a lot of time rolling that cardboard bag and trying to make it smaller.”

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" I asked, filled with regret.

She laughed sincerely, and instantly became an adult again: "You were too busy at that time. I saw how you worked so hard to raise me and my younger siblings, but you couldn't take care of it at all. I know you have been It was hard work, Jennifer and I both had nice dresses and matching headbands anyway. And you picked us up when school was late or we couldn't catch the bus yet. Remember you bought it for us raincoat and umbrella?" She was trying to make me feel better.After so many years, she still thinks of me everywhere.

I don't want to interrupt the conversation: "How did you feel when the lunch bell rang?"

"Uh... I'm afraid of lunch. I hide my lunch bag under the clutter in the luggage room, always hoping..." Her expression suddenly came alive, "Once, I found a piece of paper under the bag, I I thought it was a note written by you, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a food label."

"I never knew you wanted a lunchbox," I whispered, guilt-ridden.

As the years passed, I kept thinking of that lunchbox that Julia had longed for for years.I can see her sitting alone in a corner of the dining room with a cardboard bag almost as big as her body, while her classmates eat delicious sandwiches and read their mothers' loving small note.

Last September, Julia's two daughters entered the second grade of kindergarten.She called me 9 states away and told me they had just gotten on the bus and it was the first day of school.

"Mum, they both brought their own lunch-boxes. Jimmy's is pink and Katie's is yellow: you know how Katie likes yellow. I got their lunches ready last night." Her excitement rang through the phone, filling my kitchen and my heart. "Triangle sandwiches. Neatly cut, Mom, with chocolate, grapes, cheese, homemade cookies, cooked chicken legs...everything in separate easy-open bags."

"Julia, Julia!" I literally yelled into the microphone, "Did you remember to put the note?"

"Let go, oh, let go!" she replied.

One day, I was cleaning the garage vigorously.Julia's father died a few years ago and I remarried to my husband's farm thousands of miles away, so everything in the garage was foreign to me.I reached inside a cardboard box and felt something.A tin lunch box!The front of the box has a picture of a tiger munching on cereal and howling happily, "Great!" This lunch box is a bit older, probably from the 60s.I sat cross-legged on the garage floor, hugging my lunch box gently in my lap, as if it had been gifted to me from out of nowhere.

My God, is it really possible to give me a second chance?
"Go ahead," a voice whispered to me, "it's not too late."

I took the lunchbox to the kitchen and washed it in the sink as carefully as I would wash crystal glass.My imagination began to surge and expand, like a sleeping kitten slowly waking up.What should a mother pack in her grown daughter's lunch box who lives thousands of miles away?Lollipops, chewing gum, and a small handful of raisins.

Come to think of it, Julia loves old, fun things, so I put several 90-year-old paper dolls in an easy-open bag.An ancient lace handkerchief, a very old embroidered tea towel, and my love for my daughter is packed into a small space.I also included a quaint jewel-encrusted comb and a quote from a pamphlet on friendship published at the turn of the century.In the book, I wrote something like this: "Just think of it as a carrot, cleaned and peeled, Julia, and eat it all."

In a small satin bag, I included an antique needle that a friend had given me some years ago.A few packets of makeup and hair products that Julia loves also make it into the lunch box.When I couldn't fit anything, I carefully placed a folded napkin on top - a large brown turkey and some golden leaves with "Happy Thanksgiving" written on it, of course , at the very bottom of the box I hid a note that said in red capital letters: "I love you, Julia, my darling, and have a good day! - Mom."

I took my carefully bundled package and drove to the post office, happily convincing myself: don’t mind that the lunch box is 20 years late, don’t mind that Julia is almost 30 years old, after all, she still has a lunch box!Please, God, don't make it too late, I pray silently in my heart.

3 days later, the phone rang.At first I didn't recognize the other party's voice.The man was shouting, shouting, and laughing on the phone. "Mom, I never realized that I was 7 years old, it was so exciting, I was almost out of breath, and when I opened my lunch box, I felt like I was sitting at a long table and could smell the school All my classmates are looking at me!" "So it's not too late for that lunchbox, is it?" I asked in a hoarse voice.

"Too late? Oh, never of that... But, of all things, my favorite is the note you put in the bottom of the box. Although I always knew in my heart that you loved me, but, Mom, I still want to see the note you wrote..."

Heart mark notes
A celebrity once said such a sentence: "There is a driving force above all else, which is love, because it can promote the happiness of another person, subordinate his own happiness to another person, and do everything in order to promote his happiness. Be loyal and wise." This sentence is a true portrayal of a mother's treatment of her children. There is a kind of maternal love that can always make people happy and moved for a long time.

Love is never too late, even if time goes by and the world changes, as long as you never forget, love stories can be written at any time.Whether it is the love of parents to their children, or the love of children to their parents, it is not too late to speak out the love.

(End of this chapter)