December 12 – “Early morning battleground”

Welcome to the Conundrum of the Century, the Decision of the Decade, the Yammer of the Year, the Dilemma of the Day, the Motivation of the Moment.  We have a major battle today.  Who will come out on top?  The opponents?  Karo vs. Blackburn.  The arena?  That world-renowned venue affectionately known as The Breakfast Bar. 

OK.  OK.  So it wasn’t quite that big a deal.  Cailyn and I were enjoying our Leggo frozen waffles this morning with Karo syrup.  Yes, we do indulge in that quirk.  See, we are connoisseurs of corn syrup.  And, yes, we prefer the light blend over the maple-tasting stuff.  Not that we don’t like the other taste, or that we wouldn’t accept it on an order at IHOP.  I just tried it out one day and decided that there was less aftertaste, always a plus.  Cailyn seems to have picked up the habit from being around me, a testament to the awe-inspiring power a crachety old grandpa can have over young, growing minds.  However, her talent for discriminating fine syrups seems to have vastly surpassed my own.  Sigh.  I guess it was bound to happen. 

So, we usually get Karo syrup.  Last time, however, with the holiday baking season in full sway, all the Karo was gone, and only Blackburn’s remained.  Oh, well, I figured.  How bad could it be?  And I didn’t think it was all that bad.  Certainly an adequate substitute.  That is, until the master arrived for breakfast this morning.  Oh, she ate her waffles, all right.  But out of the blue she declared, “DadDad, this syrup is much better than that other kind.”

 

Hmm.  I queried: “So what makes it different?”

“Well, it’s because that other one has a picture of a cake on it.”

A cake.  Well, I suppose that could be a factor.  I never noticed the cake.  Maybe if I had I would have been enlightened.  But she quickly followed up with,

“And this one has a better taste to it.” 

Personally, I couldn’t tell the difference.  In fact I was impressed with the thickness of the Blackburn’s.  It was the only non-Karo brand that we have tried that almost matched the sugar-laden consistency.  Most of the off-brands are too thin.  Loses that syrupy feel.  Anyway, I was glad that she considered something other than packaging.  But you ad exec’s over at Blackburn’s … you might want to reconsider and get rid of that picture of a cake.  It apparently affects the taste of your product.

Joshua 24:15 says, “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Father, I am pleased that you have won over the battles that matter in our house.  May it be so in the homes of our children and our church and the fire department and the city and Texas and across the nation.  Amen.