I remember ripping the bag open so badly, and so wrong, and not wanting to get caught by my mother, or my siblings. Whoever did that to the cereal bags in my home, didn't stop hearing that they ruined it, till the bag was finished.

Some fell to the ground, kitchen sink, our dogs even sometimes got lucky with a few pieces of cereal in their bowls. Just when you think all that mess is done, you pour the milk, and BAM more cereal falls out the bowl! Who doesn't love a overflowing bowl of cereal?

I used to love when my mom came home from grocery shopping. Frosted Flakes, Corn Pops, Fruity Pebbles! My siblings, and I survived off these bags. They were out sweetness when, when we felt lonely. They were out excitement after a long day at the school house...and they were out fulfillment when mom was addicted to other things that weren't so delicious. Those bags were our addiction.

Mom was "Cu cu for Coco Puffs", but she never forgot our cereal. When we would rip the bag open we would waste countless grains of cereal. Anna would get mad, because cereal wasn't free. Maybe she knew how much it meant to us, because she knew on nights when she wasn't herself she could rely on those bags of cereal to feed her babies. She didn't want any of it to go too waste.

No cereal is free, now on my own, in my own kitchen I buy my own bags of cereal, my grains that I never take for granted. My grains that I wake up to, and thankful for every spoonful.