Slice-of-Life Day One Entries: One Teacher…One Student

My Napkin

By Mrs. Melucci

When I was a little girl my school didn’t have a cafeteria
so my dad had to pack my lunch each day.
The most important thing was my napkin.
I wouldn’t eat a sandwich.
A hot dog in a thermos with chips and brownies was our solution.
Daddy would wrap the hot dog buns in shiny aluminum foil
so tightly that the intricacies of the bun could be seen
as indentations in the foil.
But the most important thing was my napkin.
Yes, my napkin.
Every day Daddy would write me a love note.
A note to say, “I love you”, or “Have a great day”, or “Good luck on that test”.
Every single day.
That napkin meant everything to me.
I read it and cherished it and never threw it away.
Never.
Not ever.
That note had way too much love in it and on it to end up in the trash.
I would fold it
and place it back in my bright yellow Snoopy lunch box
so that Daddy would know how much he and that napkin meant to me.

One of the Two

By Sienna V, 3rd Grade Heritage

Ever since I can
Remember I’ve been
One of the two
Andrew and I
One of the two
Who beg for lollipops
From the big jar in the cabinet.
One of the two
Who hate doing chores.
I’m one of the two
Moving to Florida
Flying on a plane with
No adults
Brown hair, rainbow eyes
I feel bad for my parents
Who are driving
But it is okay I will
Have company and
So will my parents.