Desk Bento Diaries: Notes from a Woman Who Does Ten Impossible Things Before Breakfast

There’s a bento box on my desk.

It’s not styled for the ’gram.

There’s no time to fan out the oranges or sprinkle sesame seeds for sparkle.

It sits quietly beside my tablet — next to the keyboard, and a million ideas and to-do lists swirling in my head. 

I made it this afternoon. 3 hours too late. 

I made it after I did 3 batches of laundry, writing a blog post, uploading to my socials, and a dozen different small things. 

I made it because my hands were shaking again — not from romance, not from excitement, but from blood sugar that’s been running too low since I started exercising and writing again.

And so I built a tray.

A meal.

A reminder.

A little box that says:

“You do not have to earn your nourishment.”

“You are not behind. You are rebuilding.”

“You do ten impossible things before breakfast — you deserve to eat something beautiful.”

I'm a full-time stay-at-home mom, homeschooler, children's book author, writer, homemaker, and a businesswoman. So, yes. I do ten impossible things before breakfast. All moms do. 

This isn’t a post about recipes.

It’s about survival.

About slowing down just enough to chew.

About not letting the woman behind the camera run on fumes while feeding the world.

This desk bento —

with its pistachios and taiyaki, and leftovers — is a prayer.

A quiet one.

For energy.

For softness.

For another day where I don’t treat eating as another chore. Where I don't push eating to the bottom of my to-do list. 

Where I don’t forget me.

After many years of giving myself freely, after years of just saying yes to everybody. After years of empyting out my cup with nothing in return or with just a trickle. After years of putting myself at the bottom of my list, I'm now choosing me. Starting with this bento. I made this all for me. And I'm proud of myself for choosing me today. I choose to be healthy. I choose to stay sane and not have my hands shake while I work. This bento is my quiet reminder to eat, to nourish myself, to feed my soul. 

This is just the start of my Desk Bento Diaries. This is the start of reclaiming me. 

And if you’ve ever skipped lunch because you were too busy being everything — this one’s for you too. If you want to know more, hop on over the pond to my food blog. Maybe you'll find a simple recipe or two there to help you get dinner on the table tonight. Without fuss. Without too much effort. If you're like me, let's start reclaiming you, too.