Cereal

One of the things I love is when I am getting Jari breakfast. He comes downstairs, his hair all askew, and I greet him good morning and ask if he slept well. He always looks so little to me in the morning, and as I stand at the counter making Erwin's lunch while he runs in to go pee, I watch his pyjama clad body retreat.



When he comes back, I always go to him, give him a quick cuddle, and ask what he'd like for breakfast. Samwich or cereal? Most often, it's cereal. I actually prefer it that way, knowing we get to go through one of my favorite rituals. I open the cupboard door and check the cereal contents. We don't buy name brand, except on the surprise ocassion, and our cereals are not called Honey Loops or Fruit Loops or Cookie Crisp. Instead, Jari names them by the picture on the box. Bee (the round ones or the circles?), Penguin, Bear. Sometimes, the picture changes as a different brand is purchased, but even if the penguin has turned into a polar bear, it's still penguin cereal. It always makes me smile.



So, I check the contents, and ask if he'd like Penguin or Bee? Penguin, he says, as I retrieve a bowl from the cupboard. There is no penguin on the box, no picture at all in fact, and he asks as he watches, "Are you sure that's Penguin cereal, mama?" I hand him his cereal, with just a touch of milk as he hates soggy flakes, and won't drink what's left in the bowl, and answer "Of course it's Penguin cereal!!!" And always, always, I ask him if it's yummy, and he always, always answers YES!



Penguin cereal is one of his favorites. Penguin cereal is the equivalent of Frosted Flakes. Monkey cereal is a close second, aka Cocoa Crispies. And then there's the Bee...have any idea what the Bee might bee? Think oma and opa will be able to decipher our secret cereal language when they come to take care of Jari while we're away? I may need to write out a cereal decoder...but it won't matter, as oma and opa call it all "hondenbrokjes (dog food)" or plain ole cornflakes....but who'd pick Cornflakes when you could choose the Penguin instead? :-)