Overview of Day 2

Yesterday went pretty well for us.  I was crazy busy with work, so lunch didn't get eaten.  Needless to say, by the time supper came, I was more than ready for the grilled chicken sandwich!  Ashton couldn't understand why I wouldn't allow him to eat a chocolate pudding and he looked completely puzzled when I launched into an explanation of the food stamp challenge and how I bought the pudding last week and not this week so we couldn't consume it.  By the time I was done, he just turned and walked away without another word - I truly tried to explain things on his level (he's 5), but I think he got so bored with the discussion that all thoughts of pudding went out of his head.  Now, don't get me wrong because Ashton truly knows what starvation is - his baby sister almost died from it - and it is a topic we have discussed over and over again but the concept of our government giving people free money to eat on had him confused.  He couldn't understand why they just didn't go to work and make extra money on their own since America is having a hard time paying its bills too (my job primarily consists of court-appointed work, so that means I get paid by the State of Tennessee and we frequently go weeks and months before they pay my claims so he has heard us talking about the State being broke).  Actually, Ashton's questions and comments are some that I am mulling over right now too.

To fill you in on how I did at the luncheon yesterday, I survived without anything but a free glass of water!  The bread was free but I stayed clear of that too.  The aromas were absolutely tantalizing, though!  I did leave the luncheon with conflicting thoughts and feeling slightly deflated.  When asked why I wasn't eating, one of my colleagues pointed out that the challenge wasn't a true reflection of the welfare system.  He said that based upon my having children, I wouldn't have to be buying items that WIC pays for and which I did pay for out of the budget.  He also stressed that there are numerous food banks and churches that frequently provide assistance to welfare recipients, so I was totally surviving with far less than what welfare recipients actually survive on.  He is right in that there are other programs and benefits out there, and although I did admit to that, I couldn't seem to convey that the purpose of this challenge was for us to realize how short the allotted $21 per person per week falls in terms of providing for adequate nutrition and that the welfare recipient does have to rely on other programs and non-profits.

Jason came home yesterday and said that he was really trying to stick with the program and then asked if I was proud of him for not cheating - as he pointed out that he could clearly eat at work and I wouldn't be any wiser unless he confessed.  Apparently, there has been food brought-in to work and he knows that based upon the rules of the challenge that we can't eat food unless we purchase it.  I asked if he explained why he didn't eat anything and he said no because he didn't want anyone to be offended if they didn't understand the purpose of the challenge.  He also said that he was asked if he wanted to put some money towards a southern meal of homemade fried chicken on Friday and he also turned that down - I'm sure his coworkers think he is sick or something because I am always sending baked items with him to work to share with his co-workers and he always participates in dinners. 

Oh, my husband did ask me if the school was going to provide us with any of that great government cheese that comes in a box.  He said that a friend of his grandmother used to give her their family's cheese and that it was the best cheese ever.  To top the day off, my sister-in-law asked me about the cheese last night too!  I've never had the government cheese but apparently it is really, really good.  Their comments about cheese brought back a memory from my high school days when a group of boys came through the cafeteria one morning chanting:  Welfare (Repeated by another group), Government Cheese (Repeated), Give me a leg of turkey, I ain't hard to please (Together).  I didn't have a clue what those guys were chanting about but here it is 15 years later and I finally understand!  I don't know that this last part has anything much to do with the challenge but it finally brought together the meaning of that chant I heard so long ago (and why I am remembering that now, I have NO idea).