Off the Juice

I am swearing off Pepsi. "Yeah, yeah", I hear you saying, especially my kids. But this time it's for real. It is high time I admit that I have an problem. There! It's out! I have never been much for booze and whatnot, but I have sure gotten myself into a bad habit tossing back the cola.

When I went into the MTC I had to stop cold turkey. Then I went to Canada for eighteen months and guess what? The Coke in Canada is different than US of A Coke, and it's no good! Lucky for me! So a year and a half without the stuff, and I thought I was home free. Then, what did I do the first week I was back home? After I went on my favorite run at Red Butte Gardens I went out to lunch with my friend Melissa, got a giant Coke. I fell off the wagon.

A bunch of years ago President Hinckley was interviewed on 60 Minutes, and Mike Wallace asked him about caffeinated drinks. Of course coffee and tea are out, that's a no-brainer, and written in ink. But when specifically asked about colas, and that wise man gave an emphatic, "No", I remember my brother putting his hands over his ears and saying,"La la la la la"! That has been my attitude too!

Anyway, and more than that, I know it's bad for me. Really bad. I know that dietitians would tell you if you are going to eliminate one thing from your diet, it should be soda. Every time I fill up a disposable cup with sugary carmel water and slap a plastic lid on it, my environmentally-friendly conscience cringes. And I wouldn't dream of letting my kids drink soda! So far, my rhetoric with them has been something like, "When you're an adult, you can make bad choices, but as long as you're a kid, blah blah blah." And when they really hound me about it, I tell them that when they stop eating candy, I'll stop drinking Coke/Pepsi.

So, here I am. Please send me your strong vibes! Say a prayer for me! Do the little rosary thingy like Levi's grandma! Day one, here goes. Wish me luck.