My sister and I shared bunk beds. She on hers and me on mine, Ellen and I dreamed for hours about what life would be like when we were adults and finally calling the shots.Our parents lived on wheat germ, nuts, grilled vegetables, homemade yogurt, and lots of raw broccoli. Our dreams, therefore, were about junk food. And, lots of it!
We insisted we would eat ice cream every day. We wold have Hostess Twinkies in our cabinets, Mallomars in every cookie jar, soda flowing freely from all our faucets, and chips always on hand. Breakfast, the most important meal of the day, would start off just right - with sweet cereal in big bowls. Yes, we dreamed about the day we would have our own homes and could finally stock our cabinets with the good stuff.
We didn't let our parents unfortunate health habits dissuade us. Every Saturday the family made our weekly trip to Bohaks, a supermarket in the next town over. Each week we wandered the aisles, looking longingly at all the fun treats - not the Fruit Cocktail and shortbread cookies my mother called dessert. When we got to the Sweet Cereal aisle it was always the same plea. "Just one box. Come on. We'll never ask again. Pretty please, with sugar on top." Ok, maybe not "the sugar on top" part. That would be adding insult to injury, wouldn't it?
January 13, 1973. Thirty-seven years ago. That was the year my father buckled. Standing right there in the cereal aisle, he conceded. Yes, to sweet cereal. One box on this one day each year.
I haven't missed a Sweet Cereal Day since.
Even while I was in college living in Manzanita Hall, where bottomless canisters of sweet cereal could be found everywhere and my parents could be found nowhere, I still only treated myself to sweet cereal on the much anticipated January 13. Wherever I go, so goes this favorite family tradition. New York, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, back to Georgia, Kentucky, and then back to Texas again.
Today I celebrate with my boys. One box Captain Crunch. One box Sugar Smacks. One box Coco Puffs. One box for breakfast. One box for lunch. And, one box for dinner.
Join me, won't you? But, it's B.Y.O.B. (Bring your own box). Which box of sweet cereal will you be bringing?
Signing off until tomorrow when I should start coming down from my sugar high!
12 comments:
Sweet cereal of choice would have to be Lucky Charms but now that I'm a little older I must admit I prefer the taste of a good granola cereal. So today the cereal in my bowl is Fruit and Nut Granola...yum!
Right now the boys are hooked on Packer cereal - yes Green Bay Packer cereal. My sister-in-law bought a case of it for them at Christmas. Basically it's generic cereal sponsored by the Packers in a collectible box. In honor of today, I'll open the frosted flakes for the boys.
Have a great day everyone!
I am a sucker for Cinnamon Toast Crunch, I think I could eat an entire box, alone...
I don't even have any cereal to celebrate today because Wednesday is grocery day...
Now I will dream and crave all day long :)
I am like Heather and now actually like grown up cereal. But I think I'd go for Golden Grahams. Though I personally consider frosted mini wheats a near health food because it contains 100% of your iron RDA. The generic doesn't have it, nor does the plain, so unfortunately the iron must be in the stuff that glues the frosting to the wheat.
I forgot it was today. I had none and we've already eaten breakfast and packed lunch. Dinner is Skyline (a weekly family tradition). So maybe I'll do this this weekend.
I did buy a box of Count Chocula for Halloween, but it was never found. Which means on of the older kids enjoyed it in the dark, alone.
It's finals week in our house. Bubba is a good son, he made his sister eggs, bacon and toast (two days in a row)... good breakfast for a good mind! And today he actually made me some bacon and I had a piece of Sissy's toast.
However, not being the strict nutritional mom, I did purchase on Monday's grocery hunt... Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Apple Cinnamon Cherrios and Cocoa Crispies.... all for everybody else. Lately, I've been into English Muffins and homemade breakfast burritos or just my Chai Tea Latte.
I am actually not a big sweet cereal fan. I'm weird, I know. One exception is Life cereal. It isn't too sweet and stays nice and crunchy! I do have some Froot Loops on hand, but those are usually eaten dry as a snack rather then with milk as breakfast.
When I learned of this tradition two years ago I gasped with horror that there was only one day a year of sweet cereal at the Beeny house. I confessed that not only for breakfast but many nights for dinner sweet cereal was on the menu at our house! It's a staple. A regular at the O'Pry household. The two flavors of choice are Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Lucky Charms though CTC seems to be the favorite.
I don't eat cereal anymore. I can't remember the last time I had a bowl of cereal. Bleh! But my boys have it almost EVERY morning- 365. :)
Aw, Peggy. Your son is so sweet.
Robin I'm so jealous of Skyline on a weekly basis...nothing sounds better than a plate of skyline spaghetti piled high with their delicious/stringy cheese.
YUM!
My favorite sweet cereal was always Fruity Pebbles. My mom even bought me a box when I was home for the holidays. However, now I eat granola and oats most mornings.
And Robin, I agree with Heather- I'm totally jealous about the weekly Skyline dinner!
Sweet cereal is a weakness of mine and for that reason, I tend not to buy it very often.
BUT... if I give in to my weakness, then I would prefer to have my cabinet stocked with
1. Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch (my absolute fave)
2. Regular Cap'n Crunch
3. Golden Grahams
I grew up on cocoa puffs, honeycombs and friut loops...but my all time favorite cereal (and I will enjoy tonight) is crunch berries...and I eat all the berries first
Robin...did you say Skyline...as in Skyline chili....I LOVE and MISS skyline chili...I am from Dayton, OH and my son and i had weekly date nights to skyline for a 3 way!!
Did anyone else see Michael Pollan on the Daily Show recently? Beware the pink milk! :)
This morning I had some light sugar brown maple oatmeal. Yum!
My sugar-y cereal of choice though is Golden Grahams! I will eat just about anything graham related.
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