About three weeks ago, Haley, my ten year old, terribly sensitive,
child decided that she was a vegetarian.  No meat.  No flesh of any
kind.  Not even her beloved shrimp cocktail.  She's been very
diligent.  I explained to her that I didn't mind that she wanted to be
a vegetarian and that I wouldn't interfere, provided that she got
enough protein from other sources and make due with the meals that I
made, supplementing with vegetables or simple things that she could
prepare herself to accompany our family meal.  She's been really

inspiring to watch, coming up with great ideas; adding yummy beans to a
rice dish or a salad, exploring and broadening her taste buds with new
fruits and vegetables.

This afternoon, at 4:45, I realized that I had to return the video
games that we rented over the weekend, lest I be charged the dreaded
late fees.  I finished what I was doing and yelled to the kids to walk
the dogs quickly and grab the video games.  We jumped in the car and
raced into town, returned the video games and it was then that I
realized that I had never roasted the eggplant that I needed for
tonight's planned meal.  Worse, I had nothing on hand to make a quick
dinner.  I didn't have a stitch of makeup on and looked down,
horrified, to realize that I was wearing my "scrub the bathroom"
outfit.  There wasn't any chance that I was going to go to a restaurant
the way that I looked and there was nothing to make at home that would
get dinner on the table before 8:30.  I was left with no choice, but
*gasp* fast food.  I told the kids that we were going to have to run to
McDonald's, but that Haley could get a salad and it would be fine...
There was silence for a moment and Haley asked in a small voice, "Do
you think it would be ok if I stopped being a vegetarian for one night?"
"Of course, honey, it's totally your decision."

I pulled up to the drive through and placed our order, burgers all
around, pulled up to the first window and paid; then waited at the
second for our food.   I passed the bag into the back and proceeded to
pull around to the parking lot behind McDonald's so that we were out of
the way.  As I put the car in park, and leaned over to get my burger, I
heard a noise coming from the back - it sounded not unlike a low growl.
"Haley, you ok?", I asked.
No response.
"Haley?"
The force of her answer startled me, she all but yelled, "This is so Freaking Good!"
I think we might have a stops and starts road to vegetarianism over at our house.

Cross posted at: http://colormepink.com

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