Generational

I received an email from my Mama this morning that made my face crack into a huge grin. I'll back that up a bit first with some history:

As a little girl, my favorite thing about staying at my grandparents' was the new box of Lucky Charms they always had waiting for me. When my Grandma was preoccupied, Grandpa would open the box, pour the entire contents into a large glass measuring bowl, until the beloved prize came tumbling out. He would quickly pour every morsel of cereal back into the box and pretend nothing ever happened. His message to me, spoken or not, was why wait for the sweet things in life, when you can just get straight to them? That breakfast lesson has never left me, and it was the story I shared at his funeral in 2008. Grandpa would then pour us each a huge bowl of Lucky Charms and splash whipping cream over the top- it was the only way I knew how to eat that cereal for years.

Back to the email from my Mama:

May your day start better than mine. I just got home from an emergency visit to the dentist. Broke a tooth while eating cereal of all things. Tried to graduate to big girl Kashi brand healthy stuff (first bowl out of the damn box)...............will stick to Lucky Charms and whipping cream for another 49 years, may have rotted my teeth out but at least wasn’t an unexpected dentist visit when I would rather be sleeping. Hope the weather forecast is as good for you as is expected here. Love M

Her breaking her tooth is not what made me grin, but the parallel in our lives this week did. Here's the reply I sent her:

This is why I love you so much: (I'd call, but talking is likely hard for you right now)

The Dad came home Sunday with groceries (what a hubby) and his purchase included a 16oz. box of Lucky Charms (that's a huuuge box) and I had to really rearrange my pantry to get it to fit, sideways. Along with the arranging, I threw out a box of Kashi cereal because I let it go stale after I realized when I opened it, how nasty the stuff is.

Then, I sat down with the lil' dude, and we each had a huge bowl of Lucky Charms for lunch, mine with heavy whipping cream poured over the top- just as the good Lord (and Grandpa R.) intended.

Sorry you had to learn the hard way.
Here's to full sugar cereal for life.

Love, LDM