The Cereal Aisle

Next to the Toy Department, my single favorite part of the store is the cereal aisle. It always has been. Now, 47year-old me can look back and realize it’s probably because of all those commercials during Saturday morning cartoons that made eating cereal seem like such an adventure — shooting hoops with Tony the Tiger, seeing Andre the Giant chase kids as they talked about how big their Honeycombs were, watching in amazement as Sonny went “cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs” — did they ever catch Lucky and get a hold of his Lucky Charms?

I actually still get pretty excited about going down the cereal aisle now. Maybe I just like cereal… OK, I definitely like cereal. In fact, it’s my go-to snack most of the time. And what’s not to like? There are dozens of varieties of cereal… sweet cereal, nutty cereal, fruity cereal, even cereal that turns your milk chocolatey so you have a little drinky-drink to finish off your bowl.

I also think part of the appeal is that enjoying a “kids’” cereal is one of the few things grown-ups don’t get judged for. Sure, Corn Flakes are probably better for me that Cap’n Crunch, but who cares. I still love Apple Jacks, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Froot Loops and I don’t care who knows.

You can go look right now in my pantry and you will find a minimum of six boxes of cereal in various states of fullness, depending on what kind of “cereal mood” my family and I have been in this week. And it’s the name brand stuff too… it is one of the very few areas of my life where I won’t default to the cheaper store brand.

And don’t listen to those snotty kids from the commercials who torment that silly rabbit, Trix are absolutely not just for kids!