I must confess one of my first loves was Dr. Pepper. Freshman year in High School and we were the best of friends, sharing all our lunches together and meeting up for breaks. Not surprisingly, our relationship intensified during my college years and I’m sure my grades would have suffered if the Dr. hadn’t been always available during exams:D.

Alas, like all relationships, there was a downside.

No, I’m not talking about the sugar and my waistline, I’m talking about something personal: Caffeine.

You see something happened in high school. Something pretty unusual for most folks at 16. I started having sharp pains in my chest. Sometimes bad enough to bring tears; always enough to knock the breath from my body.

You see, I have a heart condition, and caffeine exacerbates my bradycardia/tachycardia which causes the upper and lower portions of my heart to be out of sync together. It is a cruel and evil twist of fate for me.

And so, once more, I will give up the wild caffeine and my favorite beverage to stave off those attacks. This will occur at the least stressful time of year called Christmas. This is because I can then manage the withdrawal headache and the fatigue during my week of vacation.

I managed to be caffeine free all summer in 2017, I might make 4 months in 2018. After all, the Dr. is the hubbinator’s beverage of choice, too. And I’m keeping him:D

Until next time.