Thinking back to camping on the Thanksgiving weekend I realize that one of the best moments was when I was eating my tiny box of Frosted Flakes cereal, and marvelling over the way the morning sun dappled through the cedar trees casting luminous light over the mossy ground. It was in this moment that I could really relax and not stress over the hectic daily grind that I'm used to.It seems to me that life in the McGeachie/Freeman household has become more like walking a tightrope, while juggling bowling pins and reciting a Shakespearean soliloquy. Since September the pace around here has more than doubled. Scott has been busy making his business, SMT Cabinets successful, which means I've been picking up the slack at the home front. This was fine in the summer when I as off work, but now that I'm back teaching full time, I feel like I wake up every day running before my feet hit the ground. Work has not exactly been what I expected when I took on a new course. It takes most of my attention and energy throughout the work day. Once home I'm a full time housewife, who is trying to find the energy to complete my novel.
So to get away from everything, Scott and I joined our friends at Alice Lake for some camping and to celebrate Thanksgiving. It has been about a ten year hiatus for me when it comes to sleeping under the stars. I've had my fill of tent camping and rolled up my sleeping bag in my mid twenties, so I was a little reluctant to going of this trip. Knowing my hesitancy my husband ensured I'd be comfortable by borrowing a friend's traitor for us to sleep and cook in. He cooked majority of the meals and kept my wine glass full most of the time. I lent a hand with washing dishes and kept our cosy trailer somewhat in order. I was also in charge of the pre-camping chores like buying groceries, and packing what I thought we'd need- (p.s. you can never have enough plastic bags on hand or dish towels, two things we lacked.) One thing I knew I'd bring were those little boxes of cereals. Since I'm in my 30's I thought it best to buy the "adult variety" pack. The down fall being, there are only two sugary cereals: two boxes of Frosted Flakes. Good thing those are my favourite.
There is something strangely exciting about having these little boxes of cereal. I can't explain it, but for me they hold a bit a nostalgic magic- conjuring memories of my childhood, when we'd go camping as a family. The one thing that really made the trip for me were the Kellogg's mini boxes of cereals. I just loved having so many choices. Normally in our household a sugary cereal was a real treat, so when we went camping and my mom purchased the sugary variety pack, I couldn't wait to dive in. The days leading up to the first morning when I could finally choose my cereal was filled with such anticipation. My sister and I would haggle over who would get which ones. Through a little crafty negation and some "mom mediation" I'd usually get the first pick.
Now I was never the type of person to enjoy milk- laden cereal, so on the first morning, I'd just open the box from the top and jam my spoon inside scooping out little crunchy morsels. I'd savour each spoon full of sugary goodness, while sitting by the fire or at the breakfast table in the trailer. Those were the simple days- when being a kid meant the biggest issue camping would be fighting over who would get the Frosted Flakes.
Fast forward to the present day and I'm still just as excited to crack open a tiny box of cereal. For me, camping this past weekend was great. Lots of memorable moments, but what made the trip perfect was the fact that the biggest decision I had to make was which cereal was I going to eat, and for a brief moment in time I could be a kid again and not worry about balancing on the tightrope.
What is the one childhood food you still eat today that brings you back to your hay days of just worrying about kid stuff?
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