When I was a child, my favourite meal was macaroni and cheese. It came in an orange box with elbow macaroni and a package of powdered cheese. I would eat that daily given the opportunity. A little ketchup on top, yep, I was good. Jump forward several decades and my tastes have changed somewhat. Mac & Cheese is still one of my favourite meals but I no longer use powdered cheese because I have discovered real cheese!
I remember being told as a youth that I needed to give up my childhood dreams. I needed to accept that life was not all rainbows and unicorns. I thought that was ridiculous. There are some things that do belong in my past, in my childhood but others are still with me. Like that Mac & Cheese. I use different cheeses and different pasta but the essence is still one of comfort. Since those heady youthful days, I have discovered spices and herbs and sausage. Yes, my Mac & Cheese is significantly different than it was in those long-ago days. But it still represents, me.
I am glad I’m not the same person I was all those years ago but I’m also proud of the fact that I have retained some of that… childhood curiosity? I think that is something we should all try and keep. Life does its damnedest to mould us into appropriate adults. And that is how it should be. But we should never forget who we were and what we stood for. For that way lies madness. And there is enough madness in the world today that we do not need to contribute any more to it. Maybe that is why things are so crazy: people have forgotten what they cherished as children.
We are not born to remain in one state. We are born to grow, to evolve. Most of us do a very good job of it. But some…! Life is delicious. It is messy and uncomfortable but it is also fulfilling and rewarding. We need to embrace the best parts of it and ameliorate the rest. Just like my Mac & Cheese.
And of course, rainbows still caress the world and unicorns are just a whimsy away.
Butterfly Sand 
What did I bring into the future with me? Probably chocolate, but which ones I love have changed, as I have changed too Pam 🤣
Great story dear lady, may we ever hold something from our past, but ever step forward into our future 😀
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I love that last line! Wish I’d thought of it…
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But you did kind lady, you encouraged it to the letter 😀❤️🙏🏽
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you are so right about this. just so you know, the great majority of my pk students always name the Mac ‘n cheese in the blue box as their favorite. may they all grow and thrive
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I grew up with Catelli (I think) in an orange box, I think Kraft is in the blue box.
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yep )
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Jeepers, I feel cheated. Never had Mac and Cheese from a box, only homemade, even to this day. Nevertheless, it is a favorite of mine. Comfort food is like soft fuzzy slippers, a hot cup of tea and a good book…and yes, chocolate!
Certainly there are some childhood things we grow out of as we mature, but Heaven help us if we didn’t retain a healthy amount of our childhood silliness and innocence.
May we always see a rainbow and never lose our whimsical unicorns, or lose our desire to discover what’s ahead! 🌈
Ginger
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I would sit next to you near a roaring fire with a cup of tea, a good book and of course chocolate. Homemade mac & cheese is the best!
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Beautifully expressed! Although I live in the ‘now’ and ‘tomorrow,’ I often let the past in – while respectfully, moist-eyed, set the sad times aside – as there were so many delicious moments to recall. Whizzing down a steep hillside on a piece of lino (skirt tucked in knickers); sinking my eager teeth in a piece of hot blackberry and apple pie and playing `house’ … Aah!
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That sounds like wonderful memories! I never want to lose mine.
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My Mac and Cheese has grown to five cheese with panko topping. I think it is good we grow and still hang onto a bit of childhood.
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My thoughts exactly.
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😁
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Yup, still love Mac & Cheese. I put salsa on mine now. Perhaps that’s the secret, spice things up as we grow older.
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Ooooh, salsa, I like that!
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I do still enjoy the stuff in the box. I like the good stuff, too.
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I’d love to find a box of the old stuff and try it. It may not exist anymore.
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Pam, what beautiful words! I grew up eating Kraft Mac and Cheese. Like you, I “evolved” in how I’ve made it. I’ll always appreciate your perspective (it’s never “boxed”!!!) and the fact you’re still a dreamer! I’ll forever dream of unicorns, rainbows, and a big bowl of cheesy goodness tops it all off! 💛 thank you for sharing the simple truths that are really the things that matter!
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It gives me great joy to know that my words have touched someone. In much the same way yours have touched me.
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Thank you my friend. 💛
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Mac and cheese with tuna, onions and peas. Yum! Ketchup? Never!
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I like the idea of tuna and onions.
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You topped it with a little bit of ketchup too?
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Please don’t hate me. It is my guilty pleasure. I admit it, I like ketchup. I try to go to Ketchup Anonymous meetings but I relapse. I like ketchup on fries and mac & cheese and grilled cheese and . . .
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Same here! LOL
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