What a couple of weeks we've had!
Two weeks ago, we hosted Christmas dinner for John's family. I wasn't thrilled, I admit it. I didn't object to his family coming down, but I did object to what John bought for dinner: a ham, whole milk for them to drink and a pound of butter for mashed potatoes. So, they enjoyed a traditional dinner on our dime, while I savored a heaping plate of roasted root vegetables John made for me. I also had a salad topped with hummus. Throughout the meal, John's 10-year old niece kept making comments about my "weird" dinner. John gave her a bite of hummus, and she spit it out. She smelled the boys' almond milk and declared it "gross". I spent the whole meal biting my tongue. John's dad did have some roasted veggies with me, and he tried the hummus on some pita and said he liked it.
After dinner, John's grandma weighed the boys, and she was convinced Sam has lost 10 pounds this year. He has weighed the same 42 pounds forever. She's got to be remembering wrong, but she doesn't believe me. She thinks the kids are starving to death. Somehow, our plant based diet is unhealthier than the way my husband's family eats. John's sister, a stay-at-home-mom with 4 kids, ages 8 to 1, doesn't cook. At all. I'm not exaggerating. They eat McDonald's for every meal. Their oven is used for storage. Their fridge is filled with pop and "juice". Did you hear me say they eat McDonald's for every meal? That's the truth. Her kids are pudgy (I'm trying to be nice here), and they refuse to eat milk that isn't flavored, food that has bones in it, contains vegetables and can't be easily eaten with fingers/dipped into ketchup or ranch dressing. And it's perfectly acceptable. This is what I'm up against.
I saw your post on FB regarding this blog and thought I would venture in since I had time. I really like this last post stating what you are up against! It's quite funny how the people of our nation are so judgemental on things that aren't understood. Although I'm not vegan or vegetarian for that matter, I understand that different things (diets) work for different people. Try talking to a Non Organic farmer about Organic foods and they right away have opinions on what's wrong with that kind of farming. Do they really understand what's wrong with all the chemicals they put on the ground? Or is it because they were raised that way and lived, it must be ok?
ReplyDeleteAnywho, you make me smile with your writing because I can totally see you talking the same way you write! Keep it up and when your in laws get maxed out on prescription drugs and fear losing body parts or lives, YOU will be the first one they come to for advice (: