He was up early and got dressed without nagging, arriving in the kitchen just seconds after I’d transferred his breakfast from the pan to the plate. It was a pleasant surprise, and I told him so – there’s nothing better than a morning that runs smoothly. I placed the plate, fork, and a glass of water on the table and kissed his head.

If you need anything – a drink or more breakfast – I’ll be in my bathroom drying my hair, I told him as I started down the hall. He assured me he could get himself another drink if he was thirsty, and I reminded him that the milk jug was full so he should be careful if he poured any.

A few minutes later, I turned off the hairdryer and poked my head into his bedroom. He was playing quietly with a few toys. I gave him the five-minute warning, and without being asked he started towards his bathroom to brush his teeth.

Was I in an alternate universe? This was too easy.

With our boots on and jackets zipped, I ran down the hall to pour coffee into my travel mug and that’s when I saw it: the empty Pepsi bottle sitting next to the sink.

DID YOU DRINK PEPSI THIS MORNING? I asked sternly, annoyed that I was asking such a ridiculous question. Pepsi before school is hardly the type of thing I’d allow. Heck, Pepsi PERIOD is hardly the type of thing I allow – even for myself. He sheepishly answered yes, before apologizing and reminding me he’d brushed his teeth afterwards.

Besides, he said, I had fruit and eggs at breakfast. That little drink was my dessert.

Mommy guilt set in as I asked myself why I hadn’t poured the last two or three sips of (no doubt flat) Pepsi out and recycled the bottle a week ago. Would he be bouncing off the walls at school? What kind of negative effect would the caffeine and sugar have on his ability to learn and concentrate?

And then, I decided to drop it.

My kid ate two eggs, half a banana, a piece of whole wheat toast, and a little bowl of blueberries for breakfast. In his lunch, he has cucumbers with homemade biscuits, cheese, celery and sliced strawberries. He’ll drink water from his water bottle, and snack on fresh fruit and veggies at recess time. He’ll probably turn his nose up at his nut-free granola bar at After School Program.

And he had Pepsi for his “breakfast dessert”.