When I was a kid we had oatmeal every morning, Monday through Friday. Saturdays was a farm style breakfast bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, you know the whole works. Then Sunday it was time for popovers, or hot cross buns, depending on what my Mom felt like cooking. But oatmeal that was my favorite. After we moved to the states that changed my Dad brought home a case of small, serving sized boxes, of cold cereal and we were hooked. I know that our switch to cold cereals made Mom’s life easier but we still got oatmeal every once in awhile.

When Dad was in a good mood he would buy a quart box of ice milk (which is like ice cream but less fattening) and when he got home he would open the box, slice the ice milk, and lay the slices on our bowls of hot oat meal. We would let it melt before we ate it.

When Mom was in a good mood she would plump some raisins and add them to the pot and then she’d add a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a spoon of brown sugar, to each bowl. Me, I liked a little extra cinnamon in mine, my little brother liked to add extra brown sugar. We would watch the brown sugar melt before pouring in the milk.

Sometimes Mom or Dad would make a pot of hot cocoa to pour over our oatmeal, or we would get some maple syrup, instead of sugar, or brown sugar. That was always a nice change too.

When I was seven we were living in Germany. I woke up in the middle of the night and threw up all over my bed, crying for my Mom and Dad to come help me. My dog, a little mut, half spitz and half cocker spaniel, jumped up ran up the ladder to the top bunk, where I was sitting in pain. She barked at me jumped off the bed and ran to Mom and Dads room barking. They rushed me to the closest hospital. It turned out that I had appendicitis and had to have emergency surgery. My apendix had exploded inside me and after the surgery all I was allowed to eat was melba toast, peppermint tea, and porridge for a week. Porridge is kind of like oatmeal except no milk, and no sugar. I begged for milk and sugar and was called a spoiled American brat. I told my Dad when he came later that day that I was starving and they wouldn't let me have milk and sugar with my poridge, he must have spoken to someone because after that I always got some with my meal. The second week they added a soft boiled egg and switched the melba toast to regular toast with a bit of butter and I was in heaven though still in pain. The third week I was finally allowed to go home.

When I was a teenager we moved back to Washington and for a special treat my Dad would take us up to Snoquimie Pass, I don’t know if it’s still there but there was a restaurant/lodge that had the worlds best oatmeal. It had everything in it dried apples, raisins, cinnamon, brown sugar, it was a lovely breakfast on a cold winters day.

When I got a little older prepackaged instant oatmeal appeared in the grocery store. It was okay but didn’t come in any flavors except plain back then. When it started coming out in different flavors it was a big hit in our house.

Now that I’m the Mom we were buying a lot of the prepackaged individual serving sized oatmeal in every flavor they had. Because the boys can’t eat it it was easier for the girls and I, but it was getting a little expensive on a tight budget, so I started experimenting with cooking regular rolled oats in the microwave. You know the kind with the happy old man in a hat on the box. I found that if I put a half cup of oats ¾ cup of water and a dash of salt, stir it with a spoon and zap it for three minutes then mix it again it comes out just right, and if you add just a touch of maple syrup and brown sugar it tastes just like the prepackaged kind.

You can add in raisins, dried apple, dried apricot, cinnamon, nut meg, brown sugar, sugar, maple syrup, strawberries, cocoa powder, butter, vanilla, margarine, nutella, ice milk, or ice cream, jazz it up if not for yourself do it for your kids they’ll appreciate it and have good memories of the family breakfasts at home.