Dear Kid,

“I’ll be up early,” said my new acquaintance, “I’m usually up at around 4am.”

As a conversation stopper, that statement was right up there with “Let’s talk politics and religion.”

I searched for common ground. “That’s awfully early, even to turn on the coffee pot.”

My new acquaintance was ready with conversation stopper #2. “I don’t drink caffeine. Just water.”

Uh-huh. And your thoughts on the upcoming presidential election are…? Ever ready with clever repartee, I said, “I see.”

“I just don’t sleep much,” new acquaintance said.

As a conversation stopper, "I don't drink caffeine" was right up there with “Let’s talk politics and religion.” DearKidLoveMom.comNever at a loss for words, I replied, “Ah.”

Predictably, that’s where the small talk ended.

In other jolt-worthy news, my friend B is all excited. She’s found a new pre-workout drink that has time release capsules and provides a blast of energy and mental alertness. She’s thrilled with this new beverage and let me taste it. Tasted like tangerine (which was good because the label said it was tangerine flavor).

I took a good look at the container. Turns out that inside these super advance incredible time release capsules is—you guessed it—caffeine. A lot of caffeine. More caffeine than 2 large cups of coffee. There’s also a bunch of unpronounceable stuff that’s supposed to be crazy healthy for you if you work out a lot.

But mostly it’s caffeine.

I’m considering putting my new acquaintance and my friend B in a room and seeing what happens. I’ll be watching while I sip a cup (or two) of regular old coffee. And smiling.

Love, Mom