Cereal and Memories

Whenever I have a bowl of cereal, I am taken back to my Grandma and Pawpaw's house.  She would open the cupboard and offer us a choice from about 9 different options... and for a kid, we always delighted in getting to choose!  I remember corn flakes and honey nut cheerios were a staple, with a few other sundries scattered about.  Nutty clusters, fiber oats, or something with whole grain probably sat on the shelves amongst them.  And very rarely something with artificial colors and sugar would show up - too rarely much to our demise.  But we still ate! 

I most often would choose corn flakes, and then Grandma would slice up a banana for me, and I would note, even then, that the sweet banana was great with the not-sweet corn flakes.  I loved the simplicity of it, and how good it tasted.  And then there's honey-nut cheerios.  I don't know what it is about them, but the little oh's of honey-nutty goodness are entrancing!  This is the go-to cereal when I want a little sweetness.  I still love it, and it's Gary's favorite.  I believe it's going to be a staple at our house forever!

Interestingly enough, cereal has the preponderance of making memories for me.  For my Grandma, like I mentioned, it was the boxes of cereal on the shelves, and the choices.  And the smiles.  There are always smiles when I think about Grandma (and Pawpaw)!  For my Granddaddy, the cereal of choice was definitely Raisin Bran Crunch, without a doubt.  And while there were also the random others, Raisin Bran Crunch was the only one I ever remember him eating.  And if I ever wanted to have cereal while I was over there, that was what I was eating too!  I was/am a bit of a copy cat when it comes to certain things.  :)  And again, I remember the flavors, the slivers of the almonds, the chewy of the raisin cluster things, and the bran flakes that crumbled in the milk (not too bad though).  A darn good cereal!!

It's funny though, how I have those memories. 

They are so specific, so undeniable.

I look back now and it makes me smile to think about them and their cereals, which is good - because I wouldn't want it any other way.  Their memories will always be with me, and the fondness for those cereals will always remain.