Steel Cut!

Raising a child to maturity is similar to steel cut oats!

I have enjoyed oatmeal since my childhood.

My Aunt Betty would make Shawn & I oatmeal, cream of wheat, grits but my favorite was oatmeal.

For years I have read about the benefits of steel cut oats for making oatmeal as opposed to using the instant version.

There is instant oatmeal that takes 1 minute to make – looks like sawdust – taste is not all that bad.

Then there is the 3-minute oatmeal which I have eaten for years for breakfast (add walnuts and fruit and it is ok).

What is the reason that I never tried steel cut oatmeal, even though all the nutritional gurus harp about its benefits?

It takes about 20 minutes to cook and it costs more!

Are you kidding me – who has 20 minutes to watch oatmeal get ready.

Get with the program oatmeal – this is an instant gratification world!

Finally, I capitulated and developed a strategy -I would cook the oatmeal while writing a blog post.

That way I would still feel as if I were being productive – instead of the equivalent of watching grass grow and paint dry.

I took my first bite – amazing – the taste, the texture, the fullness – I was in culinary heaven!

Sure, it takes longer, but it is worth it.

Back to raising your child.

As a parent it is natural to wish that your child would instantly have manners (yes, sir; no ma’am); would instantly be self-regulating (translation: only good behavior and zero bad behavior); would instantly have depth of character (honesty, integrity, compassion, and the other 97 virtues), the list goes on and on.

Guess what?  Parenting is a steel oats experience – it takes longer to get the desired results, the emotional investment is high – but the journey is worth it!