Most mornings this winter I’ve enjoyed oatmeal for breakfast. The kind that cooks on the stove is worth the effort for me, even though it means an extra pot to wash. Served warm with dried cranberries and a little brown sugar, a few chopped walnuts stirred in, it’s a healthy and comforting brace against a cold morning.
But with the welcome respite we’re having from winter in Central Kentucky right now, I can hardly bear the thought of another bowl of oatmeal. All winter I’ve loved it; now I’m sick of it. Maybe it’s really cold weather I’m weary of, but the guilt by association persists.
Poor oatmeal. A steady companion all these bleak months and now I don’t want it in my sight. Don’t need that remnant of the winter doldrums. It’s hardly fair. I just opened a tall new cylindrical box and it may be next winter before I finish it.
Fresh fruit! Whole wheat toast! Even cold cereal sounds better. Yogurt! Or smoothies! So many possibilities on a sunny spring-like morning. It’s spring fever at the breakfast table.
If the pangs over ignoring my faithful oats grow unbearable, I’ll make them into cookies.
What kind of change are you looking for?
I’m looking for signs of growth – flowers to be exact. The hymn “In the BulbThere Is A Flower” comes to mind. I’ve been watching a bulb grow inside the house for a little over three weeks now. This week, it burst into bloom. It is exquisite! I felt as if I was actually watching it move sometimes. The growth was visitble, tangible, there for everyone to see.
That kind of growth is going on inside us – if we let it. I’m just not always sure it’s so visible to others. It is my hope that as I grow in my ministry others will have their corner brightened in some way.
This was a marvelous column, Susan. You’re wonderful!
I love watching bulbs grow indoors, especially when I can see the roots growing as well as the green shoots. The reminder that other, less visible growth happens, even when we don’t have such a clear view of it, is encouraging. Thanks for brightening this corner today!
Maybe you just need DIFFERENT oatmeal to break the association.
a bit of cocoa powder, defatted peanut flour, a few chocolate chips, sweetner of choice… “Reese’s” style oatmeal
and I found this great idea for “carrot cake” oatmeal on a favorite fitness blog:
http://ohsheglows.com/2010/12/21/holiday-breakfast-in-a-jiffy-carrot-cake-oatmeal/
Hmmm…. ok, maybe I could use a little more imagination in my breakfast bowl. Thanks for the inspiration!