And the Pendulum Swings...

I come from a family that had a pretty rigid breakfast schedule...hot cereal on Mondays, eggs on Tuesdays, cold cereal on Wednesdays, hot cereal again on Thursdays, eggs again on Friday, then cold cereal, pancakes, or french toast on Saturdays and Sundays.

For a cereal lover like me, the lack of cold cereal in this breakfast scenario is just not acceptable. So, as an adult, I have tried desperately to make up for the striking imbalance that I experienced growing up. I think so far I've done pretty well accomplishing my goal. Especially when cereal is on sale. I'm like a mad woman, filling my pantry shelves with all the yummy (gasp!) name-brand cereals I never got as a kid. (I think our new all-time high for boxes of cereal at one time is 38.) (But believe me: I do not hold the record among my siblings.)

My poor mom. I am sure that all she was trying to do was to teach us healthy eating habits. Unfortunately, all that she really accomplished was to raise 5 cereal-hoarding candy fiends that sometimes eat dinners with no green vegetables, and rarely eat whole grains.

And, undoubtedly, my own children will resent the fact that all we ever had to eat for breakfast was cereal, and that waffles, eggs, and french toast were reserved for Sunday night dinners on the fly.