Once a month, the middle school sends home a Subway lunch order form as a school fundraiser (they make $1 on every order). I like supporting the school and my son likes eating Subway for lunch — but mostly he likes not having to make his lunch that day.

To order the lunch, the students fill out a form and send in the money ($5). As I looked over the paper, I noticed a small statement at the bottom of the page; “If parents would like to order lunch, please print out additional forms and put your child’s name on the top.”

I was thrilled at the thought of joining my seventh grader for lunch! I informed my husband, and he too was thrilled. We immediately printed out two additional forms and marked the date on our calendar.

Our son was not so thrilled.

He has a lot of friends, but he does not hang out with them outside of school. He talks about them and they enjoy playing online games together, but I have never met any of them. I saw this lunch as an opportunity to meet his friends and enjoy a sandwich together.

As the lunch date approached, my husband and I got more and more excited and my son got more and more worried. He kept asking what we were going to wear and if we were really coming (my husband had offered to wear his high school letterman’s jacket).

We both showed up for lunch (in regular clothes) and had a great time. I met several of his friends, and by the end of lunch they were even willing to have their picture taken for this blog. It was fantastic.

I enjoyed it so much, I called my kids’ elementary and high schools to find out if parents could join their kids for lunch. Both schools allow parents to come for lunch, as long as they check in at the office first.

I think next week I’ll join my high school freshman for lunch. She is just as thrilled as her brother was.

Have you ever joined your child for lunch at school? Tell me about your experience at [email protected]