The V Word...

I am wondering what went through your collective minds when you saw the title....

Whatever it was (and I have some creative possibilities), it probably wasn't what I was pondering. Actually, it has to do with Emma - and it has been brewing a while now....

Still stumped? I'll give you one hint. Last night's meatloaf.

Enough with the suspense. It is probably killing you. Many of you know my eldest daughter's aversion to meat. I think it started as a texture thing - then when her class did the "Where do foods come from?" unit - that was the final straw. By the way - I think this is an instance of our kids being TOO EDUCATED. She lived blissfully for a while thinking hamburgers came simply from the fresh-faced cashier at MacDonalds. I digress.

So - we have had a deal for a while regarding her consumption of meat at meals. I am the MOM. She is the CHILD. You know the rest. Because my children have recently threatened to unionize, we struck an agreement. You eat the number of bites of the noxious substance that correlates to your age. Worked well until our lawyer to be realized she would ALWAYS have to eat more bites than her sibs because well - she is ALWAYS going to be older. Hmmm.

Last night - after watching her grimace, gag, pale, and drink copious amounts of milk to wash down the 6 dastardly pieces of meatloaf (made unrecognizable by the ridiculous amount of barbecue sauce) I calmly asked what the big issue was.

Her reply - "I think I want to be a vegetarian. They don't eat animal meat."

My mind veered off into the myriad of possibilities this conversion could lead to. Brilliantly, I came up with "They also don't eat chicken nuggets." This indeed stumped her. Apparently, her official stance is "chicken with crust on it doesn't count as meat." She may not be far off.

I couldn't argue. I was a vegetarian too for a while. What can it hurt? We then followed up the discussion with differences between vegan and vegatarian. That conversation continued this morning. She assured me she will NOT be giving up her milk, eggs, or cottage cheese because it "doesn't have to be dipped in something to taste good." Aha! I was afraid she was basing this on principle.

Anyway - it was kind of cool actually. I am just getting glimpses of the kind of arguments she will make, the kind of rationale she can use, and when she asked me again this morning if she could still "Be a vegetarian." I reminded her that my job was to keep her safe. Her job was to make the best decisions for her. Gulp. It looks like these decisions may be coming faster than I thought.