God Bless The Lunch Ladies, Again

     A few months back I wrote a post titled God Bless The Lunch Ladies.  I will be the first to admit, even though it was done as a tribute to all of the lunch ladies I have had the priveledge of knowing through the years, it was written with a distinctly humorous slant.  I went back and read the post again, with the events of the past few days in mind, and today that post has become again one of my all time favorites.

The Lunch Ladies

     My wife works in a school cafeteria.  Her exact job title is School Food Service Personnel.  I call her a Lunch Lady.  The title Lunch Lady is more fitting, because it is a title that I say with love and respect.  I am proud of my wife, proud of the woman that she is, and proud of the job that she does.  The past couple of days, I have heard the words lunch lady said by different people with more respect and admiration than I have ever heard, and it makes me proud.  Unless you have ever actually gotten to know one of these women, you will never understand the love and dedication that they have for the kids they feed.  For most of them, it is more than just a job, it is a calling, and a love.
    I have had the pleasure of knowing many women that have done this work through the years, and many of them have left an indellible mark on me.  Some fed me when I was in school others I knew from other places, but all of them are and were great women.  Sitting here now, in the quiet of my room, the names and faces come back to me with great admiration and love. Jerri Weaver, Eva Nell Woods, Linda Pettyjohn, Joyce Ozment, and many others that I have had the pleasure of knowing.  These are and were great women of strong character and faith.
     One fact that most people don't realize is that lunch ladies don't make a lot of money.  Most do it for the love of the job.  Most of them could make a lot more money, with more respect, and better recognition doing what they do in the private sector.  They do it to be around the kids, and to be a part of their lives.  It is especially gratifying to me when a child sees my wife out and comes up to her to say hi.  Many of the kids are now adults, but still take the time to say hi.  The kids know how special these women are.  My wife has been doing this job for a while now, and has watched these children, yours and mine, grow up.  My wife can tell you their names, what they like to eat, what they don't like, and many other things about them.  It amazes me.  She, like most other lunch ladies, loves the kids.
     In the first entry I did about lunch ladies I made a comment, and it holds even more true today than when I wrote it.  The passage said simply, " I hope that in Heaven there is a special dinner just for lunch ladies, where everyone they served can come together and feed them.  That seems only right."  It rings even truer today than the day I wrote it.  God bless all of the lunch ladies, you deserve it.