Sweets for the...not-so sweet (and sneaky!)

Candy. I have such an addiction to it. I love it - always have. As a child, it was such a luxury to get candy, because we just didn't get it very often (or at least, not as often as we wanted, nay, NEEDED it, which was all the time). Mom fought an impressive battle trying to keep us away from sugar (spraying the holiday candy dishes with hairspray, etc.). She was pretty good at hiding all things sweet, but we were insane for sugar, and developed a type of sugar-radar (a radar that I now see, to a much for powerful, acute, and crazy degree in my own 3 year old daughter, go figure). We learned to scour the house for sugar. We learned all of the usually hiding places: above the mirror on mom's dresser, in mom and dad's closet, in dad's sock drawer, mom's underwear drawer, behind things in the highest shelf of the tallest cupboards, etc. Then there was the freezer. Heh, heh, there wasn't much mom could do about ice cream in the freezer. We became pretty fast at grabbing a spoon, digging out a quick but scrumptious spoonful of ice cream, and gobbling it up before anyone could notice. I remember seeing Wade do it once, and I was amazed. My first instinct was to tell on him, but it was so brilliant, that I just followed suit.

When mom had the locked cupboard installed for the candy, we immediately worked on picking the lock, just lick we did with the lock that mom and dad put on the TV. That was was easy to pick. When mom and dad were out, we'd pick the lock, and we'd take turns standing guard to watch for their car. When we heard it coming, we'd quickly replace the lock and look like we were cleaning up the house or something. Anyway, back to the candy. The locked cupboard was harder to pick, but not impossible. I know Wade figured it out. When we couldn't get actual, conventional candy, we would get creative. We sprinkled straight sugar onto buttered toast (cinnamon sugar was preferred, but we weren't picky), we'd shovel spoonfuls of dry hot cocoa mix into our mouths (something I've been caught doing as an adult. Adam thinks it's disgusting, but sugar is sugar), and do just about anything to get a sugar fix.

Looking back I'm sure we were the kids who other parents had to worry about when we came over. I remember once going over to my friends Sally Steven's house. Right there in the living room was a bowl of candy. I was fixated with it. I couldn't believe that we didn't just sit down and devour it. I was only holding myself back because she might think I was weird if I ate some. How was it possible that she didn't want any - or even seem to notice that it was there?!? I know I managed to sneak some of the candy without her knowing it. Later on at her house we decided ice cream sounded yummy (I don't remember whose idea it was, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I put us up to it). So, with no hesitation, she just went to the freezer and got some, bowls and all, no sneaking! I was nervous. We could get in serious trouble. When her mom came in the room, however, it was no big deal. Smiles all around. I felt like I was in some kind of alternative reality. Wow!

I remember us Olsen kids would go nuts eating cookies and other sweets at missionary homecomings or farewells. I admit that I would eat more than normal amounts of sugar when I babysat at other people's houses whose pantries were loaded with good stuff. We also LOVED visiting grandparents because it usually meant that we would get something sweet, especially at Grandma B's house - what a fabulous cookie jar she had!
Now if you'll excuse me...I need to feed my sweet teeth.