Growing up, my momma always packed my lunch for school. I didn’t buy much, especially in middle school and high school. In elementary school, I bought on pizza day and special days like Thanksgiving dinners. Plus, I loved some of the lunch ladies and always enjoyed going through the lunch line to say hello to them. The chocolate milk cartons were my favorite! I actually remember one of my teachers having us save them, and we planted flowers in them one spring. It’s crazy the things you forget about, then think about a simple milk carton that triggers a memory.

During these years, I remember my momma’s notes on napkins. I remember eating cheesies and using them, but I could never throw them out, no matter how orange the white napkin got. I felt bad like she would know I just threw it out, especially when I was little.

I never dreamed I would grow up and have a little girl who would be the exact same way but worse.

I hate even to use the word “worse.” It’s not a bad thing. It’s actually so sweet. If I pack her lunch, there always, ALWAYS has to be a note, and the note can’t be on the top, so she sees it right away. She has a snack time mid-morning, so she has to get into her lunchbox to get it. She doesn’t want to see her note until lunch. I think it just gives her something to look forward to. So I always place it under her sandwich box.

I didn’t write a note one day because we were running late, and I just didn’t have time. That afternoon, when she got home, she said, “Mommy, you forgot to write me a note! I was so sad!”

I haven’t missed a day since. The guilt sunk in that my simple little notes meant that much to her.

Just a simple “I love you, have a good day, my sweet girl!” means that much to her.

A month or so later (and this cracked me up), she asked if I could start packing extra napkins, so she didn’t have to use my note napkin. She felt bad wiping her grimy little peanut butter and jelly fingers on a napkin with a simple note.

“Honey, that’s what the napkin is used for. Just use the note napkin and then throw it out. It’s OK. I promise!”

“Noooooo!! I can’t. I won’t ever throw them out. I feel like I’ll hurt your feelings,” she said.

She brings home these notes every day she packs. Some are on napkins, and some are on paper. But she has a pile of them. I have to throw them out when she isn’t looking!! Last year, we had a pile that we threw out at the end of the school year that she saved.

Recently, she came home a week ago and said, “Mommy. I have to tell you something. So, at lunch, a friend of mine gave me Takis to try. I laid them on my napkin, but I didn’t like them, so my friend asked if someone else wanted them, and Noah said he did. I told him I wanted my napkin back when he was done because my napkin had a note from my mom on it.”

She straight up made this kid give her back the napkin. I mean, come on! Does that not crack you up and give you all the feels about how incredibly sweet this little girl is!? I told her I was writing about her this week, and she asked me to tell you all she has been writing about. She wrote a special story about the river, which is a six-chapter story called The River Story.

She’s so excited about our two-week stay at the river this summer over the fourth of July that she wrote about it. It’s so adorable. I helped her rewrite it on the computer, and then she asked her grandparents over Friday night (March 21st) and her Uncle Joe and Aunt Winny (who joined in the lot with us ten years ago) to come over and hear her story because they were all in it. Even Lindsay (Winny’s) dog Mocha made the cut! And can I just say that she writes exactly like her mother!? Writes like she talks. I am sure everyone will get a kick out of this on Friday night.

I look forward to hearing our little writer read her story to her grandparents. Is she a future writer for the Webb? Could you guys handle two of us crazy critters every week?

Only time will tell. *enter cheesy smile here*

Orecchiette with Peas and Bacon in Cream Sauce
Ingredients:
• 1 pound package of Orecchiette
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 6 slices of bacon, chopped and fried
• 3-4 boneless chicken breast, cut in bite size pieces
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (you can also use light cream if you wish)
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to your taste
Directions:

Cook pasta according to the package and set aside.

In a large saucepan, cook bacon and set aside. In the same saucepan, add olive oil and garlic to

pan. Cook up chicken until fully cooked.

Add chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 3 minutes.

Slowly add the heavy cream and pasta. Let simmer for 5 minutes until it thickens.

(If you have to add a little roux to thicken, go for it!)

Add bacon and peas and serve immediately.

Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!