Old Age

A strange thing has happened to me in my ripe, “old” age.  Since turning thirty I have discovered my taste buds are changing quite a bit. 

For years I have loved the smell of coffee.  And while I do enjoy a cappuccino or especially a good frappuchino, an actual cup of coffee was too strong for my liking.  However, I enjoyed the smell so much, I once begged my husband to drink it in the morning, just so we could fill our home with its rich aroma.  He denied my request to become addicted to caffeine for no reason other than to please his wife’s olfactory nerves.

But recently, I have noticed that I have acquired a newfound liking to the cup of joe (with cream and sugar mind you).  I bought a bag of coffee beans this week and hope to figure out how to use our coffee maker so I can start my day with the sweet smell of hazelnut coffee brewing in our kitchen.  Funny, how I made it through 4 years of college, 3 years of teaching, and 3 newborn babies without it, but within weeks of hitting the big 3-0 I’ve turned to the dark side. 

More startling than my appreciation for coffee, is my recent discovery of a diet soft drink that I have found acceptable to the palate.  I am a coke snob.  And I wouldn’t touch diet soda if it was the last soda on earth.  But last week I went to visit Scott at work and asked him to bring me out a soda.  All they had was a diet coke with lime and a cherry coke zero.  I wrinkled my nose in disgust.  No way was I touching the diet coke, but I left the cherry coke zero sitting on the picnic table.  (see I told you I was a snob).  I thought about it.  My mouth was dry and so I figured, what the heck.  I closed my eyes and took a sip, much like I was attempting to get down cough medicine.  It wasn’t bad.  I drank some more.  Hmmm… can’t really tell much of a difference.  I must confess it took me several more sips before I was willing to admit to Scott that it didn’t taste different to me than regular cherry coke.   He was in shock!  I have to confess I haven’t tried one since, b/c we still have regulars in our pantry.  But, the next time I need to buy more coke, I intend to purchase a case of cherry coke zero. 

I’ve been thirty for 2 weeks now and I’ve added diet soda and coffee to my grocery list… what’s next?