Do you have any gathering traditions?

As we approach Christmas I am reminded of a few great gathering stories my family loves to share. For some of you, the month of December, and maybe even the first half of January are filled with gatherings for different reasons. Now that both of my parents have passed I take special care in remembering some of these stories I used to tell in passing, hoping that they remind me and others of values passed along in our time together. Hopefully this challenges you to do the same!

OK, the Pepsi bottle…

In our household, at least in my time growing up as the youngest, everything soda or pop oriented was called Pepsi. “Did you pick up Pepsi?” could have been 7-Up as well, maybe root beer if you were daring, but it was normally by one name. And normally, it was actually Pepsi. (OK, if you remember Pic-A-Pop, then we also went through that collection from time to time) Pepsi was king, though. Apparently soda will rot a kid’s mind and teeth, but we all partook from as early as I can remember, so you’ll have to debate that one on your own. Pepsi was a big deal, needed to be replenished regularly, and you were threatened harm if you finished the bottle in the fridge without informing the right people…or if you left less than a small glass in the bottle and put it back…or if it was room temperature…

You get the drift of the Pepsi paradigm.

My dad loved to poke fun, get people stirred up, and if he knew something bothered you, he would use that to his advantage to get the laughs going. (Disclaimer: Not to the point of hurting someone, but sometimes feelings get hurt. Family, etc.) So near the end of the great cola wars of the ’80’s my dad challenged our Pepsi sensibilities. I can’t remember if it was Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter, but he took it upon himself to prove that us kids could not tell the difference between the colas. And no, I don’t mean Pepsi vs Coke, because Coke was not allowed in the house, and my dad was also very ‘careful’ with money for such things.

So our ‘cola wars’ were actually, “What’s in the Pepsi bottle?”

Dad would keep the old Pepsi bottles and refill them with store brand colas! You could sense his glee as he put the bottles on the table, children and grandchildren milling around, all knowing that something was up. Well, us kids (I was the only one under 18 at this time) knew something was up. The grandchildren did not have refined palates at this time so they just sensed the presence of sugar in the building, and like wasps at a BBQ in southern Manitoba, would come to the table, mouths agape and glasses in hand. The rest of us were wise to the old man, especially when we noticed all the bottle seals had been broken…

“Oh c’mon, you can’t tell the difference!”

We could tell the difference. And the fun would ensue. Along with the debate and the description of the special ‘notes’ of Pepsi or the lack thereof in the other so-called colas. He gave up after a while, a few years I believe. It may have been at the time we tried to pass the worst of the worst, a store brand called ‘Economy Foods’, that dad called the end of the game. It took a cola so bad that dad couldn’t even drink it, probably was not designed for human consumption, and I couldn’t even use for making ice cream floats. It was not Pepsi.

There’s a lot you can take from this story, put into practice for your own life and work, or just laugh along to as it warms your heart. I like to use it as an example of living a life of integrity based on your true values, and your true value as a person. A father, a mother, a kid, a grandkid, a grandpa, a happily single person, etc. etc. It might look the same, packaged under the same genre, be sold right next to something that could almost pass for it, but it just might not be ‘it’.

As you prepare for Christmas, giving gifts and hopefully receiving a few, I hope you take some time to reflect on what’s in the bottle. And don’t leave people at the table guessing at what it is.

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Don’t forget to check out the communication course!!!

It’s easy to use, could be fun, and it’s very cheap right now! I still have it priced at $2 for Christmas, so you can surprise someone with a gift. Tell them it was designed for them…OK, maybe don’t say that. Click on the image for more: