An Almond a Day

This is the story of how I unknowingly hurt a middle school friend who had lost her dad to cancer.

Every Friday when I was in middle school, my classmates and I were allowed to sit anywhere we wanted in the lunchroom. Naturally, every Friday I chose to sit with my closest friends - a group of about 8 girls. I thought most of my friends were so cool because they would buy their lunch in the cafeteria, while I had to bring my lunch from home. I don't know how much other people remember middle school lunches, but to 12-year-old me, the thought of bringing a lunch that was homemade by my mom - ugh. My mom did try her best though and sometimes would even pack foods that I would actually eat - including almonds. Now at some point, my mother decided to alter the famous phrase "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" and change it to "three almonds a day keeps the cancer away."

One of my friends had lost her dad to cancer when she was a kid and apparently everybody knew this fact except for me.

So 12-year old me who is sitting in my group of girlfriends who I still had a lot to learn about, who doesn't know that my friend's dad had died to cancer and who is excited that my lunch actually included something I enjoyed eating, exclaims to my whole friend group "three almonds a day keeps the cancer away" like my mom always said. The whole table went silent as everybody stared at me... "What?" I asked, to which one of the girls quickly changed the subject.

Later that day my best friend explained to me why all of the girls were shocked and baffled at my comment. So yea, that day I learned that you never know what someone has been through and that simple phrases can be more insensitive than you think.

That friend taught me a lot over a couple of years. We haven't spoken much since we were young due to finding different interests and just naturally drifting apart, and I'm not sure if she realizes how much of an influence she had on my life, but I think about her a lot and will always remember the life lessons that she taught me.

Author: Tagen Kaestner

Tagen is an aspiring author, teacher, blogger, and artist who enjoys travel and believes that everyone should curate happiness by owning their lives, designing their ideal lifestyle, and making it a reality.