A funny thing happened the other day. At 3:30 in the afternoon Ethan, my five-year-old, asked to go play with his friend. So, after slathering him in bug lotion (it was “malaria time” after all) I sent him out the door. Fifteen minutes later he came sprinting back to our front door, “Mom! Guess what? They have Fruit Loops at the store!” Whoa, that WAS newsworthy! Pretty soon I popped over to our friend’s house too, followed ten minutes later by another MAFer who exclaimed on seeing the rainbow colored box on their table, “It’s true. They do have Fruit Loops at the store! I’m going right now!” My two-year-old started fussing so I headed back home, and in the busyness of snack time and dinner prep the colorful cereal was forgotten.

Then suddenly, as I stood over the stove making dinner, I remembered the Fruit Loops and rushed to tell Jon. He was out the door and on our scooter in record time. I finished making dinner, mentally holding my breath that they weren’t already sold out. Then my conquering hero returned victorious! And the pure delight on our kids’ faces was priceless, especially when we declared, “Fruit Loops for dinner!”

Ahhh. The simple unexpected tastes (literally!) of home—a silly, small blessing that helps the world feel a little more familiar.