Get What Ya Need

Lately, Penny's been particularly enjoying what she calls "my" oatmeal, which is oatmeal I make from quick-cooking oats and I add all the flavorings and sweetener myself, instead of relying on instant oatmeal packets. (I have a particular blend of spices I use, plus sometimes I throw in some PB2 for protein. I've given some thought to trying steel-cut oats, about which I've heard many good things, but they require much longer to prepare, and also are not readily available at my grocery store, both of which are kind of deal breakers.)

I eat oatmeal darned near every day -- it's fairly quick and easy to make, and I get a lot of long-term hunger satisfaction for the number of calories in it. If I eat a quarter-cup (dry measure, makes about a cup when cooked) of oatmeal for breakfast, then I'm good for a solid four hours afterward. I'm thinking of just bringing a container of oatmeal and my spices and stuff to the office so I can have it for afternoon snacks, too, because it's so satisfying for me.

Anyway, Penny's been eating it lately, because the way I make it, it's got at least 10 fewer carbs per bowl than even the "lower sugar" packaged stuff that I'd been buying for the kids, which means she can also have yogurt. I don't mind her doing this -- as I said, it's pretty easy to make, and I'm all about her internalizing lessons about making smarter food choices.

But it does mean that my oatmeal gets used up a little faster than usual, and this week, it worked out that there wasn't enough for me to have it for breakfast today.

Today is looking kind of sucky anyway -- I'm in charge of printing and boxing a proposal, but I don't yet have most of the pieces I need, and I don't know when I will get them, which means I may well be here until only the gods know when tonight. Also, I found out last night that the novel I'd spent Wednesday night proofreading and feeling good about...? Yeah, the file got corrupted, so now it won't open at all. I have to do it all over again.

So I was going to shrug the oatmeal thing off as yet another part of this crappy day and just have a lot of coffee for breakfast.

But when I dropped Alex off at daycare, the assistant director said, "Have some breakfast!" and handed me a little white paper bag. On the side of the bag is a label with the school's logo that reads: "Working Parent Day - Hope this helps you have a great day." Inside the bag is a banana, an apple muffin, and a package of granola bars.

Like the song says: you don't always get what you want. But sometimes, you get what you need.