Coming Out

I shared my fears about addressing my new dietary lifestyle with my parents a few posts back and as promised, here is the update on how it all went.

As it turns out (and as I had feared), my mom welcomed my suggesting that I might be a vegetarian with a nice creamy dollop of sarcasm. I don't have any kids, but something tells me that if my kids ever came out with a big announcement about their religious, sexual or dietary choices, being sarcastic and dismissive is not the first thing I'll hit back with. The conversation with her wasn't ideal but I didn't have a way to bring it up randomly...until we had to stop to eat on the way home on Friday.

[pulling up to the Kanata Centrum, trying to pick a place to eat]
Mom: What about Montana's? A nice steak?
Me: Hmm, I don't know mom, how about someplace else?
Mom: Why?
Me: Well....(long pause)....I don't know if there'd be much on the menu I'd eat there. Maybe some pasta or salad?
Mom: You're not becoming all vegetarian on me now, are you?
Me: .....Would it be a problem if I was?
Mom: Well, I'm not going to change my food just for you. I'm only going to be making one meal so you'll have to just deal with it.

Me, devastated. Until we decided on Boston Pizza and sat down and I ordered, there was this awful tension and uncomfortable silence. I ordered a custom-built veggie pizza, and my mom and I shared the spinach dip to start. She had salad with bacon on it and offered me some. At this point I just dropped it and we talked about something else, but eventually the conversation steered towards the topic of acceptance and I just brought it back up.

It took some time for me to explain to her why I made this choice. I find it interesting that in some families (like mine) where Roman Catholicism is the norm, we hold our ground on some moral issues like abortion, premarital sex or same-sex rights, and it's ok to do so because this is part of a group of convictions and morals we were brought up with. On the other hand, upholding morals and opinions on some things like eating meat or believing in certain powers, for example, because of newfound groups of convictions is always labeled as "not ok," and I don't entirely understand why. In my life I've made a choice not to eat meat because of moral conviction. In her life my mother has made a choice to go to church on Sundays because of moral conviction. How are these things different in her head, I wonder?

In the end, I had a long discussion with my mom and convinced her that I'm not nuts. I explained that this was an educated decision, and that I'm not being careless with respect to getting the right vitamins, enough protein etc. She was pretty cool about splitting veg pizza again on our way back to Kingston on Sunday, and didn't make fun of me all weekend when I didn't eat the meat. I have a feeling she talked to my dad and brother about it too and told them I was actually serious and educated about this, and they didn't say a word.

Not eating the meat I had shoved in my face all weekend also wasn't a problem. My mom served hot dogs and curried lamb, and I told myself that I'd had both of them before and that I'd live. The smell of burger wafts from the 2-3 burger places I pass on the way home from work every day, and that's killer haha! In the last 3 weeks, I haven't craved meat, but know that my weakness will be sushi. Another place opened on Division this week, and I haven't decided how I feel about eating fish yet. I have salmon, tuna and haddock in my freezer that was there 4 weeks ago and it would be a shame to just throw out given my budget. I think I'll concede to fish every so often, but not make it a regular protein source.

I have a lack of vegetables in my fridge but loads of random grains in my pantry, so expect some creative cooking with limited fresh ingredients in the next week or so. Should be interesting :)