The best way to eat Cream of Wheat.......

It's not a recipe or how to-at least not like most.

A long time ago a sleepy-eyed little girl tumbled out of an oversized bed at her grandmothers house.Her pink footed pajamas caught a splinter in the wood floor in the short hallway. It didn't matter , she stumbled on to the kitchen and then to the sofa in the attatched den.

It felt soo good just to be there! It was cold and dark and quiet in the house.

Her grandmother was boiling water for coffee in the dark kitchen. She didn't turn the lights on for fear of waking the rest of her guests-the girls mom,dad and brothers.

Her plump grandmother whispered,"Are you hungry- how about some cream o-wheat?"

The girl nodded,not wanting to break the spell of quiet darkness and the soothing sound of her grandmother puttering around so quietly.

In a few minutes her grandmother waved at her and smiled as she placed a bowl of the hot steamy cereal on the old oak table.

As the girl tiptoed to the table, the smell saturated her senses . She stopped to take in the nutty,buttery smell and then plunked herself down to look at the warm bowl of goodness in front of her. It was mesmerizing-and she just sat and stared-memorizing the bowl,the cereal,the smell and then the taste. It was a moment of sheer simplicity.

Little did she know that it would remain with her for the next 45 years as a moment of peace,comfort and happiness.

When the little girl grew up and had her own family,her house was hardley ever void of the hot cereal. No one seemed to understand the healing power of that bowl of goodness in all of those 45 years!

Oh ,her kids would eat it, but it just didn't transform them like it did their mom. They wondered what in the world was so great about a mound of hot cereal with a pat of butter sitting in the middle of it. They must have thought their momma had lost her mind at times-the way she stared off in front of that bowl!

They all knew there was a special"Cream of Wheat"bowl but nobody knew what it looked like-except the girl- she knew! She could never forget that bowl. The tiny flowers,so delicate- and the tiny cracks in the china, the wide rim.

After 45 years of marriages,deaths,divorces,moving, financial reverses , fear,worry ,dread, sadness, happiness and so much more............still the cream of wheat settled and comforted the girl...except that it was missing the bowl. She tried several but none of them were right.

Two weeks ago, at a thrift store- she spotted the bowl! With no hesitation she snatched it up proclaiming to anyone who would listen what a bargain she had found! The shoppers just looked curiously at her and smiled as they looked away. They certainly didn't understand that the missing link, missing for 45 years ,had been found!

As I sat down, last week, with my hot steamy bowl of cream of wheat,in the right bowl, I let the entire scene play back for me. It was really right now!!! I could still see my grandma in the kitchen and hear her puttering! I could see and "feel" the old house again. It was all still there- sweet as ever and just as simple! I could feel the pink footed jammas and the floor.

It was nearly cold before I could get the first bite - but it was perfect-again!