The Value of Loyalty

I am one of those people that will stick with something/someone like glue... Life is just simpler that way. Some people would call this loyalty. Dictionary.com defines Loyalty as "Faithful adherence," so I guess I could go along with that.

However, I recently discovered that maybe the value put on loyalty is highly over-rated.

Anyone that knows me, knows I love mint and that I love gum, specifically peppermint gum. I would say it was probably 4th grade when I got addicted to Extra Sugarfree Peppermint gum and I have been a loyal chewer, 5 or 6 sticks a day strong. That... is a LOT of gum. When I became pregnant, mint was something I had to avoid. My body just didn't like it. An ironic burden yes, but I dealt with it. As soon as Kaleb was born, I was poppin Andes Mints and bought a pack of my Tried and True Extra Sugarfree Gum...

But WAIT! It tasted a little different. The gum was a little tougher AND the flavor didn't last as long. I thought it was just me, so I kept buying... and chewing... just not as often or as long.

THEN I went to Walmart for one of my grocery trips, and they were ALLLL out of my gum. It wasn't in the candy aisle and I didn't see any at the registers. I was frustrated, but I settled for the 5 Brand Cobalt (peppermint) gum. LO and BEHOLD, when I tried it, I discovered all the familiar flavor and softness and long-lastingness that I had remembered with EXTRA. If I didn't know better (which I don't) I would say that 5 bought the recipe from Extra then Extra cheapened themselves up!

I'm not bitter, but now I feel like a much wiser consumer! My 20-year affair with Extra is now over. Do I question my ability to be loyal in the future? Maybe a little. But at least I will have clean teeth and fresh breath!!