The Two Tragedies Of Shredded Wheat

My husband Ryan always says "there are two tragedies in life...getting what you want, and not getting what you want." I expect he heard someone say it, or read it somewhere. But this makes sense, and I love hearing him say it. Not just because Ryan is very wise for remembering it but because it is true. I'll explain in a minute.

For years and years I have been coaxing him to get up an an insane hour (4:55 a.m.) and come to the gym with me in the early mornings. I don't know what it was, but a few weeks ago, something inside him snapped and he made up his mind to tackle a personal challenge head on. So, as of a couple of weeks ago, he has been getting up early in the mornings and coming to the gym with me, three times a week. I am so proud of him. This is the 'getting what I want' part of the story.

Now, he is also motivating himself to eat better. So, we talked about various things we would do to make sure he gets more fiber, cut back on fat, and making sure we always have breakfast in the morning. I told him that I used to eat Kashi cereal pretty regularly back in my college/single years, and he said that sounded good. So, this week Ryan went to the grocery store, and proudly returned with a box of...Shredded Wheat. And he exclaims to me, "no fat and 8 grams of fiber, thank you very much!" And I go "what happened to Kashi!?" You may have guessed by now that this is the 'not getting what I want' part of the story.

For those of you don't know what Shredded Wheat is or have not eaten the cereal before, it's not hard to imagine. It tastes exactly how it sounds. But, we resolved to finish the box. Actually, HE resolved to finish the box. I am just eating it because a) I can't stand the thought of wasting food, and b) I can't stand the thought of the man I love eating cardboard-like material all by his lonesome self. Besides, 8 grams of fiber in the morning is inherently a good idea, regardless of what form it is in. I can respect that.

So there you have it, folks. Two tragedies.

The best news though, is that the box is almost half empty now.