No longer leading a charmed life

Beside my daughter's cereal bowl was a cluster of colored clumps. "I don't like the marshmallows," Faith said after removing the "Lucky Charms" from her breakfast. She doesn't like the marshmallows - is she crazy? The marshmallows were all I wanted to eat when I was a child. I dug out all the hearts, moons, stars and little clovers, but wanted to leave the bits of grain behind. Because I had to beg my Mom to buy that magical cereal, I had to agree to eat it all. Boy, have I changed. Faith wouldn't have even gotten to taste them had the box not been a mystery penny-coupon item. But when I recently tried the little pastel shapes, I realized my daughter had a point. They had a styrofoam-like texture when dry and a gummy-gloppy-gooey consistency in milk. Have my taste buds matured or did the little leprechaun lose the old family recipe?
— Liz Fabian