Big spoon, little spoon

There comes a time when you’ve been with someone a long time that you start to realize little things like how they like to brush their teeth, their sleeping habits and — most importantly — what spoon they like to use when eating cereal.

It’s wasn’t a bad thing, only an observation when it was pointed out to me that I automatically reach for the tablespoon when eating cereal. Thinking about it further, I’ve didn’t always eat with a tablespoon. But somewhere between childhood and college I made the transition from teaspoon to tablespoon.

Paul, on the other hand, consumes his cereal only with a teaspoon. Looking into it further, I’ve determined that neither one of us is right in which spoon to use. Instead, spoon usage is determined by the cereal to milk per bite ratio preference. Or cereal-librium.

Exhibit A. My cereal of choice: Trader Joe’s Frosted Vanilla Shredded Bite Size Wheats eaten with a tablespoon. There is a larger milk tp nugget ratio. I’ve gotten it to a science where every single bite-sized wheat square is accompanies a small pool of milk. End result: milk and cereal are consumed equally throughout, leaving very little of each toward the bottom of the bowl.

Exhibit B. Paul’s cereal of choice: Trader Joe’s Honey Nut O’s eaten with a teaspoon. The ratio of cereal vs. milk is reversed. The amount of milk per bite is greatly decreased based on personal preference leaving a larger quantity of cereal-flavored milk towards the end of the bowl.

The equation is completely blown with ice cream. I prefer eating ice cream with a teaspoon, allowing me to slowly enjoy the creamy confection while Paul wolfs his down with a tablespoon, gulping down huge amounts in each bite. To each his own I guess.