I can’t even count how many years I tried to give up Diet Coke for Lent. It was at least five. It never worked.
I got seriously addicted to Diet Coke in high school and college. Getting pregnant in my mid-’20s helped to curb my enthusiasm, but I still had to have one a day. If someone offered it at a meeting or a party, I could not turn it down.
Slowly, that changed. I can’t say why. I can’t say when, except that it definitely was not during Lent. Eventually, I found that the only time I really craved the stuff was when I was on my period. I would buy a 12-pack and allow myself to have as many as I wanted. Then I stopped wanting it even then.
I just don’t like it anymore. Maybe I got sick of it. Maybe something was happening during those failed Lents that I don’t understand. But it’s not something I have to give up anymore.
