hereditary

Many years ago, there was a very sensitive little girl who often "felt bad" for her mom. You see, everyday at school lunch, she would open her lunch sack and find....it. A simple paper napkin with a little message from her Mom written with a Sharpie. A simple little note; usually an eyeball, a heart, and a letter U. {I love you}. Although she appreciated the loving gesture from her mom, it caused all kinds of emotions and inner turmoil. Unbeknown to her Mom. Everyday, she would eat her lunch and stress about it. She thought about how she would have to make a choice when she was through. She would have to decide to throw it away with her trash, or have the inner battle. So she would throw out all her trash, and somehow "felt too bad" to throw away this sentiment from her Mom. So after much debate and feeling bad, she would usually wad it and put it in her pocket. There were many days she actually thought to herself, "Today is the day. Today I will throw "it" away. And I won't feel bad, because it is after all, just a napkin. I can do it." Well she would say it over and over in her head, and then when she stood in front of the trash can, she just couldn't bear to do it. So everyday she would wad that napkin up and put it in her pocket. She even thought about telling her Mom to stop writing the notes, but of course, she felt too bad. She somehow felt that throwing the napkin away would somehow hurt her Mom's feelings. Well of course it wouldn't have. But this continued anyway....till the end of 6th grade.

Well, she eventually grew up. And when her own child went to school for the first day, she wrote a note on his napkin. She later went and visited him at lunch and laughed to herself when she saw notes on every one of the kids' napkins. None of them seemed to notice the notes much, not even her own son. She was relieved. So, not wanting to pass on the tradition of inner turmoil and sadness in the cafeteria, she stopped writing notes. Not that she didn't want to, just that she knew how much grief it had caused her as a child and she certainly didn't want her own son wallowing over the trash bin with much guilt and sadness.

Many weeks later, she was packing his lunch, and realized he had left his lunch box at school. She grabbed a paper bag, and proceeded to put his lunch inside. Then it happened...the little boy looked up at her and said, "Mom, please don't write anything on that lunch bag." She said, "why?"

and he said, "because when I throw it away..........I will feel bad for you."