My Morning Ritual: Getting Something in Me, Fast
Alright, so this morning, like most mornings, I was in a bit of a rush. You know how it is. The alarm goes off, you hit snooze maybe one too many times, and then suddenly you’re scrambling. But skipping breakfast? Nah, can’t do that. My stomach starts complaining by 10 AM if I do, and nobody wants that.
So, I needed something super quick, something that wouldn’t involve a lot of thinking or, frankly, a lot of skill. I headed to the kitchen, still half-asleep, and my eyes landed on my usual suspects for a speedy meal.
Here’s what I did, step-by-step, pretty much on autopilot:
- First, I grabbed a bowl. Any bowl. Nothing fancy.
- Then, I reached for the instant oatmeal. The kind in the little packets. Yeah, I know, some people are oatmeal purists. Me? I’m a “get-it-done” purist on weekday mornings.
- Tore open a packet – apple cinnamon today, I think – and dumped it into the bowl.
- Next, water. Some folks use milk, but I find water heats up quicker in the microwave, and honestly, it tastes just fine to me with these flavored packets. I just eyeballed the amount. Too little, it’s like cement. Too much, it’s soup. I usually get it somewhere in between.
Then, I popped the bowl into the microwave. I usually hit the “add 30 seconds” button three times. So, a minute and a half. That’s my magic number for oatmeal. While that was zapping, I usually make my coffee or just stare out the window for a bit, gathering my thoughts. Today, it was mostly staring.
The microwave beeped. Carefully, I took the bowl out – it’s always hotter than I expect. Gave it a good stir with a spoon. You gotta stir it well, otherwise you get those weird dry patches. It looked pretty much like, well, oatmeal. Mission accomplished on that front.
Sometimes, if I’m feeling ambitious, or if I have some fruit that’s about to go bad, I’ll slice up a banana or throw in some berries. But today? Nope. Straight from the microwave, into my stomach. I just wanted it done.
And that was it. Found a spot at the table, ate it while scrolling through a few things on my phone. Took all of, what, five minutes from start to finish? Maybe seven if you count the coffee brewing in the background.
It’s not gourmet, not by a long shot. But it’s warm, it’s filling, and it gets me through the morning rush without any fuss. And honestly, sometimes that’s all you need. Simple and effective. That’s the name of the game for me on busy days.