I like lunch. It is the meal of accomplishment. It doesn't matter what activity you are engaged in. Nor does it matter whether we are at work or play. It does not matter if we are in the waiting area of a hospital while a loved one is undergoing surgery. If you are having lunch in the hospital cafeteria the possibility still exists that things will work out well for your loved one. If you are having dinner there, it most likely means things may not be going too well because doctors don't perform non-emergency surgery at night. And forget breakfast. Who could even eat before getting to the hospital? If you are the patient having lunch in the hospital, you are probably getting better because the feeding tube has been removed. But if you are still there for dinner, that means at least another night laying on your back pressing the call button waiting for the evening shift nurse to acknowledge your leaky catheter.
The same principles apply no matter what the activity. Whether you have a big day ahead or you will be sitting around waiting for the cable guy to show up between 8 and 12, breakfast can be filled with uncertainty and worry. Will he show up at 8 AM or will I be last on the list and he will come at 11:58 AM? You have no idea at breakfast. By lunch time, you have your answer and you can relax. If it is summit day and you wake up at 2 AM, you are both anxious and excited while you eat your oatmeal. By lunch time you are most likely headed back down the mountain or you are eating your PB&J on the summit. Suppose you have a big presentation at work, or a complicated surgical case that day. At breakfast your adrenaline is already building but you have no way to dissipate your energy so you feel a bit anxious (good anxious or bad anxious, it doesn't matter). At lunch time, you are either finished with your project or if not, and you have more to do in the afternoon, at least you have your momentum and rhythm going so you feel more relaxed and in your groove. At least the question of whether it is going to go smoothly or not has already been answered. If you are in the middle of a group activity, lunch time is a great break where everyone can take a moment to discuss and reflect on the progress of whatever it is you are doing.
I know what you are thinking. Dinner is better because you are done for the day as in "thank goodness I'm done with
that day". Well, dinner just means that you are that much closer to having to go to sleep only to wake up to face another rough day. Lunch on a really rough day, however, is a welcome break from the stress. If, on the other hand, you were doing something fun, or on vacation, dinner means that day is almost over. And breakfast on a fun day is usually rushed and too filled with anticipation to be savored properly. If you are planning on having a big day of shopping, during breakfast you are most likely worried (or should be) about spending too much. By lunch time in the food court, you don't give a damn. And how much fun is lunch while you are out shopping? At dinner that night you are back to feeling guilty for buying another leather coat.
When you were a kid what meal did you always look forward to? Whether you were in school, on a field trip, or out sledding on a snow day, lunch was always excellent. After dinner you had to do your homework or take a bath. Or dry the dishes. No one ever had to dry their lunch plate. I don't know why, but do you ever remember complaining about doing the lunch dishes? Or your breakfast cereal bowl? No, it was always the dinner dishes that were a chore.
My favorite activity is hiking and climbing uphill. There is nothing I enjoy more than eating my lunch on top of a mountain. Nothing. The hiking is hard and my feet usually hurt. I am either sweating or cold. My pack is too heavy and I haven't drunk enough water. The trail is rocky and treacherous or I am post holing through snow. I have rolled my ankle several times and I am getting a blister. The only reason I do it, I am left to conclude, is so I can sit on a rock and eat my lunch.
I am also a dentist. Everyday I see anxious patients and I do tedious and demanding procedures in the faces of people who would rather be shopping. There is blood and saliva. There are crying kids. There are crying adults. Blue Shield pays me half my normal fees. Root tips break near the sinuses and sometimes people don't get numb. The lab uses the wrong color teeth for a denture and the state of New Jersey forces me to recycle the old fillings I drill out of teeth. The only thing that gets me through the day is dreaming about lunch.
I like lunch. It is the meal of accomplishment. It doesn't matter what activity you are engaged in. Nor does it matter whether we are at work or play. It does not matter if we are in the waiting area of a hospital while a loved one is undergoing surgery. If you are having lunch in the hospital cafeteria the possibility still exists that things will work out well for your loved one. If you are having dinner there, it most likely means things may not be going too well because doctors don't perform non-emergency surgery at night. And forget breakfast. Who could even eat before getting to the hospital? If you are the patient having lunch in the hospital, you are probably getting better because the feeding tube has been removed. But if you are still there for dinner, that means at least another night laying on your back pressing the call button waiting for the evening shift nurse to acknowledge your leaky catheter.
The same principles apply no matter what the activity. Whether you have a big day ahead or you will be sitting around waiting for the cable guy to show up between 8 and 12, breakfast can be filled with uncertainty and worry. Will he show up at 8 AM or will I be last on the list and he will come at 11:58 AM? You have no idea at breakfast. By lunch time, you have your answer and you can relax. If it is summit day and you wake up at 2 AM, you are both anxious and excited while you eat your oatmeal. By lunch time you are most likely headed back down the mountain or you are eating your PB&J on the summit. Suppose you have a big presentation at work, or a complicated surgical case that day. At breakfast your adrenaline is already building but you have no way to dissipate your energy so you feel a bit anxious (good anxious or bad anxious, it doesn't matter). At lunch time, you are either finished with your project or if not, and you have more to do in the afternoon, at least you have your momentum and rhythm going so you feel more relaxed and in your groove. At least the question of whether it is going to go smoothly or not has already been answered. If you are in the middle of a group activity, lunch time is a great break where everyone can take a moment to discuss and reflect on the progress of whatever it is you are doing.
My favorite activity is hiking and climbing uphill. There is nothing I enjoy more than eating my lunch on top of a mountain. Nothing. The hiking is hard and my feet usually hurt. I am either sweating or cold. My pack is too heavy and I haven't drunk enough water. The trail is rocky and treacherous or I am post holing through snow. I have rolled my ankle several times and I am getting a blister. The only reason I do it, I am left to conclude, is so I can sit on a rock and eat my lunch.
I am also a dentist. Everyday I see anxious patients and I do tedious and demanding procedures in the faces of people who would rather be shopping. There is blood and saliva. There are crying kids. There are crying adults. Blue Shield pays me half my normal fees. Root tips break near the sinuses and sometimes people don't get numb. The lab uses the wrong color teeth for a denture and the state of New Jersey forces me to recycle the old fillings I drill out of teeth. The only thing that gets me through the day is dreaming about lunch.
I love lunch...
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right.
ReplyDeleteYou fail to consider those that start lunch some days at 12:30 pm and do not have time to finish a salad until 5:30 pm (and this is not related to a business lunch that rolls into Happy Hour). These individuals are very very happy, though, when dinner and a glass of wine are waiting for them when they get home. . .
ReplyDelete