Soda Pop, Fizzy, Soft Drink.

I just love this stuff. People don't understand how much I love it. They look at me like I am a full on Mofo!

As a kid I would be given the occasional glass of Leed. It was delicious. Sweet, cold and fizzy and it made me happy.

My dad got a big glass bottle out one day when I was about six and was still learning to read properly. I asked for a glass and he said no. It had the words "serve chilled" on the side. My eyes widened as I read it! I rushed over to Dad and said: "Look Dad!" "It says serve child!!!!!!!" He was so impressed he gave me a glass!

Once I hit the age of 11 and was in the full grip of obesity I wanted fizzy even more. It lightened my heart when I drank it. Mum bought us cans of TAB Cola, Fresca Lemon and I can't remember the name of the diet lemonade. Even though it was diet it was delicious! I drank up large.

When I was 15 I had a part time job and earned about $27 a week. I spent a lot on coke. I loved coke more than any food. I had a weight loss surgery at age 14 and it rendered me unable to eat more than an egg cup full of normal food. I made up my lost calories in coke, cereal, ice cream sweets and chocolate. All delicious! Needless to say I did not shift a heck of a lot of fat in that time!

At age 22 I was still the size of a bus so had another surgery. I drank oceans of sparkling duet and deep spring for a couple of years. I also lost all of my weight to. The operation I had allowed me to eat any amount of crap i wanted and still stay thin. I was overjoyed! I drank around seven cans of coke a day. I drank some lemon flavoured fizzies as well as that.

I was worried that my teeth would rot out of my head. Not enough to stop me though, I just used a straw so it didn't get all ofer my front teeth!

I must have drunk my way through an ocean of this sweet sticky delight in the next 14 years. Going through short periods of "givin up" that never lasted. I got married and found my husband loved coke too. We drunk it daily and on days off in summer hourly. I don't think I have ever been sick of it.

You have to understand it from my point of view I suppose. Here is how it goes: I open a chilled can of coke, it makes a gassy click and a chuff as it opens. It feels cold in my hand. I lift it up to my face and pace it under my nose as I open my mouth, I catch a faint whiff of the caramel sweetness. I have a sizeable gulp. I feel bubbles coursing down my through and the back of my tongue drops in tempreture. As I move the can away from my mouth I feel the bubbles popping on my tongue and gums. I can taste the cola flavour and the sweetness of it too. The caffiene is a bonus, I feel like I can go on with my life for another day. I am no longer thirsty. The first mouthful of every new can is the best. Don't get me wrong I enjoy yhe entire can and NEVER waist a drop but that first mouthful is pure heaven.

When I was 36 years old my second weight loss surgery failed. For once this was not my fault. It "broke" I won't bore you with the details but I did have to have it fixed. I elected to have it taken down and a new Gastric Bypass put in place. It was that or get huge again and be dead within two years maximum.

As you can imagine I was upset. I knew my life was going to change in many ways. I was told that sugery food and drink would make me feel ill. I didn't believe it actually and thought I would be different to every one else who had it and I would be immune. I wasn't. After three months I longed for my fizzy. I grieved for it in fact. I didn't mind so much not being able to eat chocolate and sweets and desserts. I did mind, but it was the coke I missed. I tried to drink some. I felt violently ill. I kept trying and kept feeling ill.

Other than the wee dallience when I was 11 I have always hated diet drinks. Thought they taste like shit actually and diet coke in particular made me physically gag.

I tried a can of diet coke and it still tasted so foul! I actually cried that day. A few days later my sister told me I should try coke zero. I did, and it was not too bad. I decided that if i kept drinking it maybe I would get used to it. I drank it and diet sprite. After around nine days I found I liked coke zero! I was and still am overjoyed!

Now each day some time after 12 I crack into a new can of coke zero and can re-live the great moments of my soda drinking past without worrying about weight gain! I can feel lightened and happy as I think about the possible effects of drinking too much artificial sweetner, such as brain tumours and cancer! But I figure what the hell, I have to die some time. Gastric bypass has forced me to do everything else right, I can't get pissed and I don't smoke so at least if this kills me I will waft away from earth on a carpet of cool, sweet fizzy bubbles!!!