Malia writes:

"Peanuts. 1972. First grade. In 1972 kindergarten went from 8 a.m. until 11:30. When you got home from kindergarten, you ate lunch and took a nap. Carrying a lunchbox was tangible proof that you were a big kid who went to real school. As soon as the drug store began stocking lunchboxes the summer before first grade, I started begging for one. I thought I would have a stroke before my mom broke down and bought me a lunchbox in August. My Peanuts lunchbox was robin's egg blue with Woodstock yellow trim on the edges. Of course there were scenes with Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Sally, Lucy, Pigpen, and Schroder. But the best part was the thermos. All the characters — even Sherman, Freida — were holding hands and smiling, forming a ring all the way around.

"I loved the lunchbox so much, but my mom wouldn't let me play with it. She didn't want me to wreck it before school started, so she put it on top of the fridge until the first day. Finally, finally, finally school started and I could carry my lovely lunchbox. One day I sat down to lunch, opened my lunchbox and dropped my thermos. I snatched it off the floor but it made the most sickening, crunchy, broken glass sound I'd ever heard. When I unscrewed the lid there was all that silvery glass floating in my apple juice. My teacher bought me a milk to have with my lunch.

"After school, we went back to the drugstore, but the thermoses you could buy individually were plain red or blue. I finished the year with a stupid red thermos that didn't match my lunchbox at all. I know I had other luchboxes after that, but I can't remember what they looked like. I just couldn't bring myself to get that attached to a lunchbox again. Sniff."