Growing up, I came from a middle class family that watched their money.  You know, the kind where kids stayed 12 years old for a few extra years, because kids under 12 ate free(or stayed free, or got in free…you see what I’m getting at). When we went on road trips, there was always a cooler with a lunch packed for the five of us.  The same went for the times we were fortunate enough to fly as young kids: always a lunch to-go.  Packing a lunch was the only way we traveled.  To this day, when my parents hit the road, or the sky, there is always a packed lunch in their bag or carry on.

I can’t remember exactly when I decided I’d had enough of the packed lunches.  I started traveling overseas right out of university, and have feverishly continued to do so since my first long haul flight.  It must have been a combination of my love of food, and the plethora of options that I found in the large international airports that sealed the fate of a packed lunch never again entering my bag.  Why would I want a packed lunch when these airport restaurants had such amazing and delicious options compared to the squished sandwich in my handbag? I’d get excited at the snack and meal choices I’d be able to pick up before I boarded; because as much as I don’t like packing a lunch, I equally dislike airplane food.

Maybe that makes me a packed-lunch snob.  Then so be it.

It doesn’t matter how many times I go home for a visit; as I sit on my overstuffed suitcase, trying to close the zipper, my Mom always asks me, “So, do you want me to make you a lunch?”

These days she does it with a smirk and already knows the answer.  My packed-lunch snobbery has become our little inside joke.

…until I moved to Asia.

I love Asian food, don’t get me wrong.  I’ve planned trips to Vietnam and Thailand based on my love of the country’s food alone.

But the thing is, Asian food in Asia is ALWAYS different from our North American versions of Asian food.  So take that factor, and combine it with the fact that where we live in Asia is not a tourist destination, and what do I have now?  I find myself stuck, time after time, in small airports with little to no food options that jive with my western taste buds.  There are heavily oiled noodles with fish based sauces, and deep fried mystery treats. But the foodie in me, isn’t jumping up and ordering one of everything before I board my flight.

Is this a first world problem? ABSOLUTELY!

Then why am I telling you? …Because my Mom will find it highly entertaining.

After several less than stellar experiences with airport food while traveling on this side of the world, we feel like we’ve reached the limits of testing the strength of our stomaches(read: too much hot sauce, Bali Belly, and all things similar). We’re maxed out.

While buzzing around the house, prepping for our upcoming vacation, my husband, who’s also an extreme packed-lunch snob, turns to me and says, “Do you think we should pack a lunch for tomorrow?”

I stopped what I was doing, my eyes got wide, and I told him in my most serious voice, “YES!!!”

Two seconds later, as I went to check what we had in the fridge to make sandwiches with, a huge smile spread across my face as I thought of my Mom, and how clear across the planet, she’d be revelling in the moment.

My lesson: Never say never. And don’t stand too firm in your ways, because you never know when you’ll have to eat your words…or a homemade sandwich.