Lucky Charms March 17, 2008

It’s St. Patrick’s Day and this (wee part) Irish girl isn’t thinking of corned beef and green beer, but of Lucky Charms, the “magically delicious” cereal of her youth.  A favorite at our breakfast table, my brothers were quick to dig for and claim the prize upon opening, leaving the box with an irreparable bulge in the middle causing the top to never quite close securely (why does everything I write about remind me of how my pants fit these days?).

This popular cereal has been around basically since I was born and has stood the test of time.  But let’s be honest….no one bought Lucky Charms for the “frosted oats” (what frosting? )  They were nothing more than dry nuggets hiding the goodies, that’s how I saw it.  (Here comes the part where you get a good laugh watching Michelle try to make something meaningful out of breakfast cereal…..)  It was the marshmallows (or “marbits” as General Mills called them) that we wanted.  Sweet little surprises hidden amidst the tasteless fill.  According to my research (you didn’t know I was so scientific, did you?) the cereal box consisted of 75% dry, boring oats and 25% sweet treats. 

Isn’t that how life is sometimes?  You  pour some life in a bowl and 75% of it seems dry and tasteless.  That’s what makes the “marshmallows” so sweet…..and so sought after.  I would dig and dig  in the box (when my mom wasn’t looking of course) trying to pick out the pink hearts, green clovers, blue diamonds and yellow moons.  That’s all I really wanted.  I suppose if all I had was a bowlful of treats, perhaps I wouldn’t appreciate the sweetness as much and only end up with a stomach ache.  I guess it’s the contrast….. the dry, boring oats that made the marbits so special.

So when life seems a little tasteless and boring,  we need to dig up and savour the sweetness of the pink hearts, blue diamonds, yellow stars and green clovers.  “The Chase Never Stops!”