Cheerio Cheerios!
I was not a big fan of sweets
when I was a kid. Yes, that should have been the first sign that there might
have been a problem with me. Luckily, Cheerios were there to greet me with
their bright yellow box and simply delicious toasted oat rings every morning.
One of the perks that my six-year old self was aware of was the fact that
taking a sip of orange juice after a mouthful of your cereal was not an
unpleasant experience like it was with super sweet cereals. On the days when I
was looking for a little pizzazz, I had the option to sprinkle a small
regulated amount of sugar in my bowl, or sometimes I got lucky and sliced
bananas were available.
The year was 1979, and I remember
dragging my sleepy-eyed, ten-year old self to the breakfast table at my
grandparents' house, only to find a suspiciously familiar, yet different box in
front of me. Honey Nut Cheerios? What was that bee doing, and where was my
usual? As a kid who did not like change, I experienced some initial panic at
the thought that my bright yellow box had been replaced. I was assured that
there was just a new variety available. I wanted to like them. I really wanted
to, but remained a creature of habit.
I remember sitting around one
evening, chatting with my sister, cramming mouthfuls of Frosted Cheerios in our
faces. My father walked in and pondered why we weren't eating regular snack
food. We really had no interest in chips or pretzels, as we were loving the
treat.
Flash forward to the years of my
own small children sitting in their high chairs with that first solid food
feast of a tray covered in little o's. The smell of Cheerios slowly took over
that baby smell. They rolled and traveled to the floor, under the couch
cushions, the car seats...everywhere. We were never without a snack, and always
had enough to share with new friends as the universal toddler treat.
Now that I am older (as in older
than my thirties, but not older than dirt yet), and have been told to watch my
cholesterol, I am still reaching for the bright yellow Cheerios box. They are
as good as ever plain, or dressed up a little with some berries. As a matter of
fact, I am eating a bowl of Cheerios as a snack while I type. Yes, just a bowl
of plain dry Cheerios. I fling a few to the dog every now and then. We use them
as treats for our small dog whenever he comes inside, or looks particularly
pathetic. The vet is impressed that he is not overweight, as is often a problem
in small dogs. We decided using Cheerios for snacks has helped. He is currently
taking some medication, so I just put half of his pill right through the center
of the o, and all is good.
Anyway, I admit to wondering if
my beloved cereal was suffering from an identity crisis over the past decade. I
also admit to a brief obsession with Team Cheerios. The red and blue box made
me really feel like I was trying new things. The Multi-grain Cheerios? I could
sit down and eat an entire box by the handful. Yes, that is the problem I
currently have-no ability to stop eating Cheerios. I was at a friend's house
when I tried the peanut butter ones, but was pretty sure she did not intend for
me to sit down and devour the whole box. It took a lot of will power for me to
just smile, with my mouth stuffed, and nod agreement to the notion of them being
delicious.
I would like to mention that I
think the summer commercial with the little girl pouring Cheerios on her father
to "help his heart" was adorable. It was a fun look at how a child's
mind works, as well as how trusted and recognizable the cereal is. Those were
my thoughts when I saw the commercial. While I have truly grown to appreciate
the diverse variety that Cheerios provides to the shelf in our pantry, I am
impressed by their respect for diversity as well.
My husband is a coupon cutting lunatic,
and of course Honey Nut is his favorite variety. Luckily, he does think of me
and uses his multi box discount buying power to indulge my multi-grain and
plain wants. I have also been joyously ripping those box tops off for over
twelve years now, and have found a new crop of elementary school children to
share them with.
This writing has made me hungry,
so I think it must be time to try mixing up a bowl of Dark Chocolate mixed with
Peanut Butter Cheerios. That will be my dry munching snack of choice this
evening. Still finding cereal in the couch cushions after all these years!
The One and Only,
Andrea
Blogger at Maybe It’s Just Me
Was my unsinkable love for those floatation device shaped cereal pieces returned? Well, I might have made a tactical error in sending my letter amidst what I am sure was a ton of mail related to a certain ad campaign. It seems that my opinion on the commercial was the main focus of my letter…or could possibly have been the only part that was read, because gosh that was a lengthy piece of literature.
Just curious, do you think if I had located this picture of my daughter from 2001 sooner, and included it with my letter, the response would have been more overwhelming?
I will gladly take my one point, as I continue to crawl my way to the finish line. I wonder where the finish line is anyway?
Current total 66 POINTS!
Check out the competition's recent post, I saw the title and thought there'd been a contest-related scandal!