I grew up in the late 1970s, and the 1980s…when metal lunch boxes were popular. I had a Holly Hobbie lunch box, with the thermos. Then I had a Strawberry Shortcake lunch box, with the flip-top spout on the Thermos. AWE-SOME. Those were METAL lunchboxes. They don’t even MAKE lunch boxes like those these days. You can find something similar to it at places like Old Navy… but they don’t come with a thermos and they’re made in China instead of in Tennessee, like the “good ol’ days”.

I spent $30 — on clearance — to buy a bagpack and lunchbox with my child’s name on it last year for Christmas. What did this child want to take lunch in almost every day once the special lunch box was here? Yeah, you guessed it — mom’s old metal lunch boxes. You know why? Because they’re still awesome. AWE-SOME! You can stick magnets on them. You can bang them around and they’ll survive. Spill something? Easy to clean up — no need to throw it in the washing machine. Practical. Well built. Withstood the test of time.

So… when creating a blog, why would I call it my MENTAL lunch box? I wanted to call it “Cheaper Than Therapy” because I figured that my rantings, ravings, and web-land journalings would prove to be much cheaper than therapy, but someone else already has that clever name for her blog. Shucks. Missed out. Then it struck me… if I can be proud to share my kick-butt 1970s/80s metal lunch boxes with my child… I guess I can share all the practical, well built, test-of-time things from my own life with anyone who is interested. A mental lunch box indeed.