Dr. Pepper is The Doctor.

I'm watching my nieces/nephew today. The oldest says to me today, "Why are you wearing a Dr. Pepper shirt?" I replied that it happened to be the one I picked out of my drawer today. She then asked, "Do you drink Dr. Pepper?" and I replied that yes, I did. She then said, "I didn't know you drank Dr. Pepper". It was sort of hilarious. Because she was saying it as if I were a serial killer and she didn't know it. Like it was some startling revelation. She explained that in their family they aren't allowed to drink caffeine. Which I totally get. I let my kids drink Diet Coke and look at them now. In fact, Jackson is a Dr. Pepper baby and then I was converted to Diet Coke and thus Sadie was the Diet Coke baby. Does anyone want to study the effects of dark caffeinated beverages on kids whose parents drank with babies in the womb? I volunteer. My hand is raised high.

I remember when I was like 13 I decided to quit drinking. Soda that is. I was in 8th grade and I remember walking to P.E. with drink in hand. I took a sip of that Dr. Pepper from the can and it tasted soooo good. then I remembered my goal. I felt SO guilty. It was only the first day!

My grandpa had a storage room FULL of soda. I'm not kidding you. There might have been a vacuum or two in there but it was packed from ceiling to floor full of Pepsi and Dad's Rootbeer, and Sams Choice soda. I was a 6-pack-a-day-er. No kidding. And I was 10 and 11 and 12. What a life I had. Those are some of my best memories. A hot summer day, friends over, soda in hand, and a swimming pool outside. Occasionally, he bought us those giant packs of candy. My drug of choice? Purple skittles. AN ENTIRE pack. Like the giantest ones that you always want to buy at Costco, but know you'll regret later. I got that. I was probably the kid on the block that everyone hated. We always had good food. Except for the bratwursts grandpa kept in the produce drawer. I never did try one. I wish I would have.

So anyway, I blame my addiction on him. It's a legitimate excuse right? So the purchase of this Dr. Pepper shirt and my love of bubbly beverages and chewy candy is not something I can even control. It's inherited.