Monday, January 11, 2010

Serial Cereal People


You are what you eat…and we are a huge cereal family…actually serial cereal people. Our pantry has more boxes than the Octomom has children…line ‘em up.

Before everyone got Home for the Holidays…I went to the Stop and Shop and rounded up the usual suspects: Cocoa Puffs, Cocoa Krispies, Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes, Grape Nut Flakes, Rice Krispies, and Honey Bunches of Oats…to add to the 5 half empty boxes already in the pantry. Breakfast cereals are not just for breakfast in this family. They make a good lunch, occasional dinner, or according to Colinboy...a 2 am snack.

What I have always loved about cereal is the cardboard box…not it’s ingestion…it’s impression. Growing up, the box had massive appeal with colorful cartoons of Toucan Sam, Sonny the Cuckoo Bird, and Snap, Crackle, Pop, along with word puzzles, and pictures of toy offers. And when I lined the boxes up side-by-side…it was the Great Wall of China…between my brother and sisters. Keep Out…Kat’s Kingdom. And just 3 boxes made the perfect cave. Keep Out…Kat’s Cavern.

Ahhh…the cereal box. Where else can you get a box of nostalgia for only $3.59?

It was cute to see my kids do the same as they grew up….collecting the special surprises…spoons, wind-up toys, and 3-D glasses…and putting up their own cardboard walls. And I never insisted they eat whole grain, non-sugary, healthy cereals. How could I…when I was (and am) shoveling 85 grams of sugar with every spoonful of Cocoa Puffs?

With breakfast being my favorite meal, the one meal I can not go without…and the reason I get out of bed…it was always important for me to have the kids eat before they left for school. I just couldn’t imagine starting my day without it.

Colinboy was never interested in eating in the morning. I remember worrying about him. How will he do in school? Will he get into college? Will he be successful in life? What will become of the Colinboy? Why doesn’t he realize…when you put Tony the Tiger in your tank…there is nothing you can’t accomplish?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

mom, yoooooouuuu'rrrrreeeee gggreeeaaat (and so are your blog and sugary cereals)!
-wishy