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When Marcia and I were first married, our first 3.5 months were at Big Oaks Campground, and we had an irregular schedule. Once classes resumed for me in the fall, Marcia started teaching elementary students (3rd grade, I think) at Monticello. Then, our schedules became more regular. In particular, we tended to have breakfast and supper at roughly the same time each day. For supper, that tended to begin between 5:00 and 5:30.
For the next two years, we had 3-4 summer months of working at Big Oaks near Monticello, and then the school year when I was either a student or a teacher. Accordingly, during the summers, we tended to have our meal times not quite as regularly as during the school year. Sometime in the first three years of our marriage, Marcia and I started increasingly having an evening snack, usually between 7:30 and 8:00. When Tim was old enough to still be awake at that time, and when he was old enough to articulate that he wanted a snack as well, he asked for his bowl of Cheerios. My cereal of choice was Wheaties, typically topped with some sugar.
One evening in about 1982 (±1), I poured Tim's bowl of Cheerios and my bowl of Wheaties. I then poured him his milk, and then my milk, and then my sugar. I very clearly remember Tim looking up at me and asking me, "Can I have some sugar too?" I don't know why I was surprised at this request, but clearly, I had never thought about him asking someday. I looked at him and told him that adding sugar to the cereal is not needed. I then told him that I am not going to use it anymore. I stopped cold turkey that night, and I have never added sugar to my cereal since that day. I also weaned myself from an evening snack as well at some point, and I can't remember the last time I have had an evening snack (at home).
Published 2026-02-04.
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