My Turkey Was Full of Baloney

Written by Peggy Rozier

This article is courtesy of Mature Living magazine

Justin’s brown eyes sparkled with excitement as I walked into his classroom. “Hey, Granny,” he called out, waving me over to his table.

My grandson had invited me to eat Thanksgiving dinner with his first-grade class. My mouth watered as I thought of the feast that awaited me – roast turkey, spicy corn bread dressing, rich giblet gravy, and sweet potato casserole. I could hardly wait.

I introduced myself to the teacher. “I’m Justin’s grandmother, and I’m here to eat Thanksgiving dinner with him.”

The countenance of her face immediately changed. “I’m afraid I have some bad news,” she said apologetically. “The first grade won’t be eating Thanksgiving dinner today with the rest of the school. They will have their turkey tomorrow at Fort King George when they reenact the first Thanksgiving between the pilgrims and the Indians. Today we will each have a bag lunch in the classroom.”

I was stunned. A bag lunch, I mused. I had heard of the dreaded bag lunch, and I was not anxious to try one.

“Will a bag lunch be all right?” the teacher asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“A bag lunch will be fine,” I managed to say, trying to hide my disappointment.

Feeling faint, I sat in a small wooden chair next to Justin, annoyed that I wasn’t going to have a real Thanksgiving dinner. I thought about leaving. After all, anyone who had ever partaken of a bag lunch would certainly understand.
Then I looked at Justin’s smiling face. He was proud to have his granny sitting next to him, and I knew I would stay.

Several children went to the cafeteria to pick up the lunches for the class. While they were gone, the teacher’s aide noticed my look of dejection and came over to cheer me up.

“Baloney,” she said.

“I beg your pardon,” I replied in a startled tone.

“Baloney,” she repeated. “We’ll probably have baloney sandwiches in our bag lunches.” Oh, great! A baloney sandwich for Thanksgiving. What a blessing! I thought sarcastically.

The children returned with the lunches and passed them out along with cartons of milk and juice. Hungry youngsters tore into their bags removing sandwiches, apples, and cookies. They ate, laughed, and talked while I watched and sulked.

One of the girls tried to eat her apple without the assistance of her front teeth. Some of the boys had mock fights with their animal cookies before devouring them. No one murmured or complained about having to eat a bag lunch – no one but me. I wasn’t doing so aloud, but I was in my heart.

Suddenly, I felt ashamed of myself. How could I be so ungrateful after the way God had blessed me? I repented of my bad attitude, thanked God for the bag lunch, and bravely took a bite of my sandwich.

Ummm…baloney. Not bad, I thought. At least it’s turkey baloney.

Peggy Rozier, a retired registered nurse in Townsend, Georgia, is a mentor for two middle-school children in her county school system.

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