Hey, Twinkie...

Over the weekend, Benjamin asked us to pick up him some Twinkies for his lunches during the week. We don't usually keep stuff like that in the house because someone around here tends to eat it too quickly. Ahem. Girl Scout Cookies? I do not know of what you speak.

But J took pity on him, and picked up a box of Twinkies on Monday night at the grocery store. When he got home with them later that night, I was in a munchy mood, so J brought me one (my lazy ass didn't want to get off the couch). I tore it open and bit into it, expecting the cakey, creamy goodness that I remembered from childhood.

Wait.

What the hell? Is that ... banana? Did they put banana in my Twinkie? That's not possible. I would have never eaten a Twinkie when I was younger because I hated the flavor of banana. Still do, apparently.

So I did a little research. According to the all knowing interwebs (or Wikipedia, whichever you prefer), the original Twinkie flavor really was - banana. But soon after mass production started, there was a banana shortage, and the vanilla cream that I remember was subbed in. The Twinkie remained the same until sometime around 2007 or 2008, when the banana flavor was brought back as a sort of novelty Twinkie.

It's been a while since we've bought Twinkies. And right there on the package, it does say "Original Banana Flavor." Who knew that original meant "a really freaking long time before I was born?"

I ate another bite or two, but didn't care to finish it. I mean, really, banana???

This morning, I put one in Benjamin's lunch box, and told him to check out the special treat he was getting. He cracked open his lunch box before putting it in his backpack, and the look on his face? Sheer bliss. He was so damned excited about the Twinkie, he ran off down the hall to thank J for getting them.

Side note:  apparently he forgot what they were called when he was saying 'thank you' and called it "the long creamy filled thing." Pretty good description.

In the meantime, Alyssa gazed at the Twinkie in Benjamin's lunch box, reached over and picked it up. She looked at me, and said, wonderingly, "What is it?"

I sort of felt like the meanest parent in the world. My almost 5 year old girl doesn't know what a Twinkie is. Total Parenting Fail. Must remedy that soon. With a REAL FREAKING TWINKIE.