The sweet freedom of buying your own esfiha in the school canteen – 02/02/2024 – Cozinha Bruta

It’s too early to celebrate, I know.

The 11-year-old son faces a hurricane of changes.

Changed stage in life. He became, clearly and evidently, a pre-teen.

Changed city. He spent the last three years in the countryside, coming and going to my house in São Paulo. Now it’s back to stay.

He changed phases at school. He moved on to fundamental 2, which requires more reading, more organization, more autonomy.

He changed schools, as he came from another city. New colleagues, new environment, little familiar things – he returned to the school where he did a month in person in 2020, before the pandemic closed everything.

After weeks of anxiety (his, mine and his mother’s), the boy started attending classes on the first day of February. From arriving at lunchtime to leaving at the end of the afternoon, I experienced hours of tension and expectation.

Outside the school gate, I saw the puppy arrive with a wide smile. Excited about the new life. It was the biggest phew I’ve ever phew.

The game may change on Monday, but let us fight one battle at a time. This has been won and must be celebrated.

The son realized that growth comes with a lot of demands, but it also opens up possibilities that he didn’t imagine for child accommodation.

It’s cute to see how he is enchanted by something absolutely banal: being able to choose his own food in the school canteen, with the girls behind the counter being the only adults in the room.

Yes, many people broke through this stage at a younger age, but he is a child of the pandemic. When he was about to gain some independence, he was locked in the house.

Then, by law or sanitary wisdom, each student took their own lunch from home, regardless of their age. At the school in the other city, the cafeteria had not reopened until last year.

Suddenly, the kid has, before his eyes during class breaks, a universe of esfihas, empanadas, cheese bread, tapioca and sandwiches. A few more things we parents veto from birth.

Now he has his own conscience. The little devil on one shoulder and the little angel on the other. The “shouldn’t disobey” versus “they’ll never know”.

In the early days of my childhood, in a little door under the school stairs, Dona Nena sold soft drinks. She pulled them out of a pile of wooden crates stored right there in the heat.

It was horrible, but he had the pleasure of drinking soda without his mother around.

My son’s school doesn’t sell soft drinks, but they do sell isotonic drinks and that still guarana in a plastic cup. I already warned you that it is not to be purchased. He said he really doesn’t like it,

Know.

I thought about writing this column as soon as he started school, and I thought about talking about esfiha because, as far as I know, my son is a fanatic about esfiha. The choice, however, was the little guy’s. I waited until he came back.

Then I asked: “What did you eat today?” The answer, as anticipated, was “esfiha”.

Phew, once again. I hooted not because of the esfiha, but because I still know my son’s preferences.

The game could change on Monday. Until then, I’ll keep celebrating.

LINK PRESENT: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access five free accesses from any link per day. Just click the blue F below.