The letter from the school is a chastisement. Iced Gems are not considered a suitably nutritional element of a packed lunch. Too sugary. Empty calories. Please do better in future.
I crumple the letter and toss it in the bin. Then I open a cupboard, retrieve a snack pack of Iced Gems, and arrange them in a flower pattern on a plate.
Finally satisfied with my creative handiwork I call my daughter.
“Time for a teddy bear’s picnic,” I say.
She squeals with delight and hurries off to gather up her ever-growing family of soft toys.
Yes these tiny colourful biscuits are sugary. But empty calories? No. Each one is full of nostalgia and joy. And that I will pass onto my daughter – school approval or not.