http://www.northwestvoice.com/home/Blog/heatherijames/26678 &nbsp; You know those big boxes of Pop-Tarts?&nbsp;Where you get a few of the frosted cinnamon and brown sugar, a few of the frosted cherry, and a few of the strawberry with no frosting whatsoever?&nbsp;Life can be like that.&nbsp;Some days, some moments, some memories, have the frosting.&nbsp;Others don&rsquo;t.&nbsp;In my households, both the one I grew up in and the one I am building up now, no one ever wanted to touch those unfrosted Pop-Tarts.&nbsp;They would sit in the cupboard, alone in the box, right next to the regular flavored packets of oatmeal in their own variety box. When I was a child, there was always a reckoning.&nbsp;Mom wouldn&rsquo;t buy another box of Pop-Tarts (or oatmeal) until the undesirable ones were consumed.&nbsp;Sometimes, we had to take care of three boxes at a time.&nbsp;Triple the amount of unfrosted Pop-Tarts to choke down.&nbsp;Made me re-think procrastination &nbsp; As an adult, I either throw the unwanted pieces away, or refrain from buying the variety pack.&nbsp;Haven&rsquo;t really considered making my son do what I know I never liked to do when I was his age.&nbsp;However, it occurred to me that perhaps I should.&nbsp; &nbsp; Sometimes duty is the unfrosted Pop-Tart, sometimes it is honor, or character, or morals, or maybe even defending the weak.&nbsp;We don&rsquo;t want to do it, but often, we must choke it down and finish the deed, even when it is undesirable to do so.&nbsp; &nbsp; Life isn&rsquo;t always full of frosting and titillating experiences that are pleasing and enjoyable.&nbsp;I shouldn&rsquo;t be suggesting to my son that it is otherwise. &nbsp;I think he&rsquo;ll be having an unfrosted Pop-Tart tomorrow.&nbsp;I think he&rsquo;ll be eating it next to me with my bowl of plain oatmeal.&nbsp;We&rsquo;ll share in the drudgery together, we&rsquo;ll do what we need to do together, we&rsquo;ll do what&rsquo;s right&hellip;together. &nbsp; &nbsp; You know those big boxes of Pop-Tarts?&nbsp;Where you get a few of the frosted cinnamon and brown sugar, a few of the frosted cherry, and a few of the strawberry with no frosting whatsoever?&nbsp;Life can be like that.&nbsp;Some days, some moments, some memories, have the frosting.&nbsp;Others don&rsquo;t.&nbsp;In my households, both the one I grew up in and the one I am building up now, no one ever wanted to touch those unfrosted Pop-Tarts.&nbsp;They would sit in the cupboard, alone in the box, right next to the regular flavored packets of oatmeal in their own variety box. When I was a child, there was always a reckoning.&nbsp;Mom wouldn&rsquo;t buy another box of Pop-Tarts (or oatmeal) until the undesirable ones were consumed.&nbsp;Sometimes, we had to take care of three boxes at a time.&nbsp;Triple the amount of unfrosted Pop-Tarts to choke down.&nbsp;Made me re-think procrastination &nbsp; As an adult, I either throw the unwanted pieces away, or refrain from buying the variety pack.&nbsp;Haven&rsquo;t really considered making my son do what I know I never liked to do when I was his age.&nbsp;However, it occurred to me that perhaps I should.&nbsp; &nbsp; Sometimes duty is the unfrosted Pop-Tart, sometimes it is honor, or character, or morals, or maybe even defending the weak.&nbsp;We don&rsquo;t want to do it, but often, we must choke it down and finish the deed, even when it is undesirable to do so.&nbsp; &nbsp; Life isn&rsquo;t always full of frosting and titillating experiences that are pleasing and enjoyable.&nbsp;I shouldn&rsquo;t be suggesting to my son that it is otherwise. &nbsp;I think he&rsquo;ll be having an unfrosted Pop-Tart tomorrow.&nbsp;I think he&rsquo;ll be eating it next to me with my bowl of plain oatmeal.&nbsp;We&rsquo;ll share in the drudgery together, we&rsquo;ll do what we need to do together, we&rsquo;ll do what&rsquo;s right&hellip;together. &nbsp; en-us <p>Heather-i... you amaze me.&nbsp; EXCELLENT post, excellent observation and point of view.&nbsp; Look for this in an upcoming issue.&nbsp; :)</p> http://www.northwestvoice.com/home/Blog/heatherijames/26678/#c_240241 http://www.northwestvoice.com/home/Blog/heatherijames/26678/#c_240241 <p>Heather-i... you amaze me.&nbsp; EXCELLENT post, excellent observation and point of view.&nbsp; Look for this in an upcoming issue.&nbsp; :)</p>