Introduction

I love cereal. I eat it at night (when no one is watching) and in the morning. I have a cupboard full of it to move from when I finish each box. It is my comfort food.

I love cereal. I eat it at night (when no one is watching) and in the morning. I have a cupboard full of it to move from when I finish each box. It is my comfort food.

• I love cereal. I eat it at night (when no one is watching) and in the morning. I have a cupboard full of it to move from when I finish each box. It is my comfort food.
• My favorite part of eating cereal is licking the spoon, especially if there is any milk left on there!
• The feeling that eating cereal gives me reminds me of childhood, when everything was good and fun! There was no worry about bills or work or anything else; just life as we knew it back then!
• My favorite cereal has always been Froot Loops! That’s all I could afford growing up with two kids, so we ate them every day for breakfast – yum! We would pour a bowl each time around 6:00 am before heading out to school (well after dad went off to work). By this point though, they were cold and soggy by noon but since they were the only hot meal we had during the week (lunch money), we ate them anyway…and loved every bite!!

So, why then, do I feel like this is almost a dirty little secret?

So, why then, do I feel like this is almost a dirty little secret? Why do I feel like the only people who know the truth are me and those who have been through it themselves? For some reason we don’t talk about these things until our teeth start falling out or we’ve lost so much hair that we now have to wear hats. I’m sure there’s an entire subculture of balding people walking around in fedoras just because they need something on their heads.

It’s a strange thing to see so many people come together for one cause yet not really be able to understand each other until it happens to them. And even then, it feels like no one really knows how to help or what questions should be asked when you’re going through something like this…

A friend told me about something called “Sugargate” where moms start putting up their kids favorite cereals on Ebay because they can’t find them in the store anymore. That’s when I realized that there are millions of us cereal addicts out there and we are closeted! We are buying up all the boxes and eating it while hiding in closets (seriously, I won’t tell where you hide yours if you don’t tell where I hide mine).

A friend told me about something called “Sugargate” where moms start putting up their kids favorite cereals on Ebay because they can’t find them in the store anymore. That’s when I realized that there are millions of us cereal addicts out there and we are closeted! We are buying up all the boxes and eating it while hiding in closets (seriously, I won’t tell where you hide yours if you don’t tell where I hide mine).

But who knows what else is going on behind closed doors? What other secrets do our friends, family members and neighbors have?! And how many more people are out there like us? Is there a secret club for cereal addicts? If so, please let me know!

The ONLY reason that this Saturday morning cereal by myself isn’t at 8am is because my family went to bed too early. When they get up, we’ll have our “real” breakfast together. But right now, as the clock ticks past midnight and then 1 am, there’s nothing left but to face that bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios (could never eat plain ones) on my own. And I take a moment to enjoy it in silence with just my cat for company before grabbing a magazine and heading back upstairs where I truly belong… alone with my sugary cereal and the knowledge that there are millions of others out there just like me.

You’re not alone. The only reason this Saturday morning cereal by myself isn’t at 8am is because my family went to bed too early. When they get up, we’ll have our “real” breakfast together. But right now, as the clock ticks past midnight and then 1 am, there’s nothing left but to face that bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios (could never eat plain ones) on my own. And I take a moment to enjoy it in silence with just my cat for company before grabbing a magazine and heading back upstairs where I truly belong… alone with my sugary cereal and the knowledge that there are millions of others out there just like me.

It’s not socially acceptable to be eating sugary cereal in the middle of the night; it’s not healthy; it’s a comfort food; it’s a treat; it’s a guilty pleasure; it’s a stress reliever; or even sometimes just an excuse to buy something new at the grocery store when you need more milk and sugar but don’t have time/energy/inclination tomorrow morning when everyone else will also be awake around 6am doing their own shopping chores before work starts again at 9am…

Conclusion

So, if you’re reading this and having a hard time admitting your addiction – don’t! Everyone has their own little quirks. Mine just happens to be eating cereal at night. And I’m proud of it!