Pressure

Behold a picture on the box of snacks in the cabinet.  Look at that - write-on wrappers, to provide missives for one's little darling's lunchbox. For some reason, the message that is depicted seems a tad disconcerting to me. 

"Have the best day ever!" seems more like a command than a wish.  That's a lot of pressure to put on a child who is still young enough to have his/her lunch packed by Mom.  What if Child does not have the best day ever?  What if it turns out that little Billy pushes Child off of the monkey bars?  What if little Susie teases Child about Child's sneakers? What if there is a pop quiz, or Child's homework is accidentally crumpled, or the water fountain unexpectedly sprays up Child's nose?  Lots of tiny annoyances can occur in every Child's life.  Are we raising such a Child to have unrealistic expectations? "I was supposed to have the best day ever!" 

Oh, dear. It's just a snack food. 

All the same, if I were writing messages on the crisped rice treat wrapper, I would stick to something a bit more neutral, such as, "I hope you have a good day."  

And I do hope that you have a good day.