When Matty was a toddler, I had a ten-block push to get him to nursery school. It was usually an easy trip and he was a happy, smiley kid, swinging his legs in the stroller. On the way we chatted back and forth, sang, laughed, discussed the graffiti that amazed him, and stopped to stare at pigeons, or colorful store windows. (Anthropolologie, as he liked to call it, was a big favorite.) The route was a terrific immersion into all things New York City and as a young kid, he was fascinated. His favorite breakfast for a while was Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal Bars.
They were packaged (easy!), he could munch one on the way (perfect!), and they were a super convenient time saver for me in the mornings (single working Mom who needed every extra bit of help she could get). Then one day completely out of the blue, Matty absolutely refused to eat one, and vowed never to eat cereal again. My morning routine was shook! Plus I had back stock of at least three weeks worth in the house. Shit! He completely destroyed the concept of handheld breakfast on the go. My son had turned into a cereal killer. (In this case, don’t even consider blaming the parents.)
Quick thinking led me to the drinkable yogurt aisle. The concept of screaming, “Cheers!” and clinking plastic bottles every block or so was so appealing to him that we never spoke of the dreaded cereal bars again. Whew! What had I worried about? Drinkable yogurt was even easier– no crumbs, no mess, no potentially sticky fingers, just shake and go.
As he got older, breakfast got a bit more complicated. He liked toast, melted cheese on toast that he called Munchee Toast, or a quick omelette— if I was making it myself it he called it a “Momlet.” (My kid was so creative!) I always had homemade mini muffins on hand, offered pancakes, bacon, or cheese roll ups with tortillas and melted cheddar. How did the Moms of my Mom’s generation do it with the suggested “balanced breakfast” of toast, juice, milk and a big bowl of cereal? I was always scrambling in the morning to feed him and manage to get myself ready and both of us out the door on time.
One morning, after a two-week run of mini muffin madness, my pretty smart kiddo decided to test the waters and with a big smile asked if he could have chocolate chip cookies for breakfast instead. “Absolutely not!” I replied, as any good Mom would. “But why not? Don’t chocolate chip cookies have the same exaaaact ingredients as mini muffins?” I was mute. The kid was absolutely right, and I had no good answer except to say that in good conscience I could not give my kid cookies to start the day. “Mom, you turned me into a cereal killer and now my options are so limited. Fiiiiiine. I’ll just have muffins…again!” I couldn’t stop laughing.
When I collected myself I bantered back, “You’re welcome to reintroduce cereal if you like? I happen to have Kix, Cheerios and Honeycomb in the house at this exact moment. I bet they’ll consider letting you out on good behavior if you try some! I’m happy to put in a good word for you with the warden.” Then he couldn’t stop laughing. Miraculously he reached into the bin, grabbed the Kix and decided to have a big bowl of cereal for breakfast. I was so inspired that I decided to join him. We ended up clinking spoons for a little morning “Cheers!” for old times’ sake at the table. I was smiling so big that it was hard to keep the milk from spilling out the corners of my mouth. I totally understand the unconditional love Mothers have for their children, even the cereal killers.
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