The other morning I was knee-deep in making the kids’ lunches, when I suddenly realized that it was almost time to leave AND I hadn’t yet made my own lunch. It was as if the anvil of getting the kids to school on time was about to fall on my head. In that cartoon-like moment (imagine the seconds before the metal lands on Wile E. Coyote, and just guess who the super genius is in this case) I was struck by inspiration–If I’m cutting up an apple for Pinta’s lunch, why not cut one up for my own?

Typically, for my lunch I’ll throw together some grilled chicken breasts, some goat cheese, and some bread. And when I say “throw together,” I’m not kidding. I toss all those things in a bag and then assemble them at my desk at work. This leaves me with a decent, but less-than-inspired lunch.

The day of my Newtonian moment, I took the apple slices I’d cut and threw those in the bag, too. When I assembled that at my desk, I had a pretty smart looking sandwich.

All of this is to say: Don't give up. Just keep cooking and things will be fine. You might suprrise yourself.