At work last night, we were talking about coffee, tea, sodas and caffeine. Everyone agreed that caffeine was absolutely necessary for them – no way they could give it up. I once felt exactly the same way – until three weeks ago.

That’s when I gave it up.

After those first few days when a universe was born inside my skull and after my ears stopped bleeding, I started getting used to it. I quit drinking coffee and Diet Coke a week before I went on 100% juice; so, I don’t really think that the extreme fatigue I experienced then was related to becoming decaffeinated. But, it might have been. Regardless, in spite of the Sunday when I could not lift my head off the pillow, the process of decaffeinating myself didn’t kill me.

So, I was wrong. I CAN give up caffeine. I can and I DID. And, at the moment, I have no plans to put it back into my diet.

As I sit here at my kitchen table, drinking my cup of orange spice herbal tea, I am loving that there are no artificial sweeteners in my system from diet foods, drinks, gum, or other snacks. And I love that there are no stimulants coursing through my blood that my body didn’t make for itself.

Oh, my! I really may be turning into a bean freak! Soon I’ll be going everywhere barefoot. I’ll start saying “man” and “groovy” all the time (wait, I already say “groovy” all the time). I’ll go to Burning Man.  I’ll stop shaving. Alright, that’s a little much. I’m not giving up my Schick. But, still, I’m liking this new experience.

I really like that my heartbeat is more normal. You see, I have an irregular heartbeat, the cardiologist I saw many years ago called it a premature heartbeat. I went to see him because, while I didn’t think I was having a heart attack, I felt a sensation in my chest that just wasn’t right. He said that drugs could treat the condition; but, that the side effects from the drugs were worse than the condition itself! Since he said that the condition wasn’t going to hurt me, I have never treated it. Instead, I’ve used it as a stress barometer. When life is calm, I may feel the odd beat once every one or two days. When I’m under a lot of stress, I feel the odd beat twenty or more times in a single day. Any sort of ingested stimulant increases the frequency; so, drinking my Diet Cokes makes it worse. Can I tell you that I haven’t felt the odd beat at all in the last couple of weeks? It’s pretty fantastic, I must say.

I still like a nice, hot cup of something now and again; so, I’ve begun exploring the world of herbal teas. Thus far, chamomile is a total no-go for me..yick. But, orange spice, pomegranate pizzazz, and vanilla Sleepytime are all big favorites. If you’ve got a favorite, I’d love to hear about it!

So, like I said, I have no plans to reintroduce caffeine into my diet. I’m going to continue to make myself a decaf!