I had a cinnamon-raisin bagel for breakfast today for the first time in six years. This may seem infinitely pointless to most people, but to me, this is a monumental step. For almost every Saturday and Sunday morning of my childhood, my family gathered at the breakfast table for bagels, cream cheese, and scrambled eggs. And for almost every one of those mornings, my parents served cinnamon-raisin bagels. There was no variety. For umpteen years I only tasted one bagel flavor. My taste buds soon became numb to the taste of both cinnamon and raisins.

When I was all growed up and ready for college, I decided it was time for me to strike out into the plethora of bagel flavors on the market. Blueberry soon became the reigning champ but never dominated the scene. Basil tomato, honey oat, banana nut, and asiago cheese also had their say. But cinnamon-raisin never surfaced. I kept it buried beneath years of repressed bagel frustration. So it goes.

Now, here I am, six years later, ready to give cinnamon-raisin another try. So I bought a 5-pack at the store, and, lo and behold, it still tastes like cardboard. But at least now I know for sure that cinnamon-raisin is not for me.

PS: dooce also posted about bagels. but her story is kinda different.