For the past two weeks, I have been waking up naturally, ready to start the day at the unearthly time of 4 a.m. The first time that it happened, I squished my eyes close really tight and tried to force myself back to sleep. I was pressing my eyes shut so tightly that my eyelids hurt. Giving up on any more zzz’s, I threw back the covers, put on my workout gear and headed down to the treadmill. I might as well try to get rid of these excess pounds I gained in Africa. There are people starving in Africa and I gained weight. There is a serious justice issue in there somewhere. Surprisingly, I felt great after speed walking on the treadmill for an hour and catching up on “Instant Beauty Pageant” and “Clean House” on my new favourite channel. A few more times of this routine, and it suddenly became a habit! What is that all about?

This morning, I decided to try to let myself sleep in, perhaps until 6:30! I dream big. Well, sure enough, 5 a.m. rolled around and I was squishing my eyes shut, trying to get back to sleep. Frustrated, I threw back the covers and made my way down to the treadmill. By 6:30, I had walked 5 kms, burned over 400 calories and had sweat dripping through my hair.

Another new development in my life since returning from Africa, is that I have switched to drinking coffee without any sugar and no milk! This is a big deal for me, since I basically made my coffee into a mug-full of confection – a literal tumbler full of liquid candy. One morning, I woke up and it was like something clicked in my brain. “I’m going to refrain from adding anything to my coffee today.” My husband was delighted because we have identical travel mugs that we use for our coffee and he inevitably takes a big swig of the sweet goodness that was my concoction. As he spits and sputters, he manages to croak out, “This is yours.” This unfortunate and unpleasant experience is no longer a threat to my husband’s happiness because we both take our coffee the same way – straight up and black.

This morning, after my big walk and a rewarding shower (with raspberry body wash followed by raspberry butter! I smell pretty!), I made my standard oatmeal, flax seed and raisin breakfast. Standing next to the stove, keeping a careful eye on my oatmeal, I caught the scent of freshly brewed coffee. “I’m going to treat myself,” I thought, “I’m going to put milk and sugar in it today!”

I ate all of my oatmeal, and then settled back into the couch, cupping my steaming mug of candy, watching the news. I took one sip and my face puckered in on itself. Horrid! The milk tasted terrible. And the sugar was too sweet! What happened to my trusty confection? The only answer can be that I’ve grown up. My taste buds have matured and I’m no longer seduced by the lures of sugar. I didn’t think it was ever possible.

I guess the old adage is true: Once you go black, you never go back.