having grace when you are different

Today and tomorrow, Mr. Right is attending an out of town conference.

It is being held at a well known , nation wide hotel.

This morning everyone attending was asked for their lunch preference.
Here we go again..................the Vegetarian choices were as follows:
Salmon, Lasagna (yes with meat) or chicken.

HELLO, is this microphone on? tap...tap.....

His choice was no longer available so he was served Sweet
& Sour Chicken stir fry with a scoop of rice............. sigh


Okay, we have been on this roller coaster for about 15 years now.
Yes, we have been asked all the questions....Where do you get your protein?
(broccoli, why, where do you get yours?) You eat chicken right? (um, no that
would be an animal) Do you have leather auto upholstery? (again, no that would
not be in line with our thinking, we ordered cloth).

The greenhouse gas emissions from producing a pound of beef, are 58 times greater
than those from producing a pound of potatoes. Refusing meat is the single most
effective thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint.

With Mr. Right's strong family history of heart disease, diabetes & cancer we decided to research and learn and read everything we could get our little mitts on,
about how we could manage to live maybe not longer lives, just much better & healthier lives while we are here.

Sure, we love and adore animals. I don't think anyone approves of
many of today's massive slaughterhouse practices.

We have devoured library books, articles, listened to lectures, bought & read books,
we subscribe to magazines...let's be honest we read anything we can get our
hands on about health and eating healthy.

We want to be good stewards of this earth.

We want to set a good example for our children and grandchildren.

We have been judged and laughed at. We have been ridiculed and made fun of by many, including family members.

One of the worst parts of working outside our home in an office situation was the lunch hour. Pot lucks are torture, having people pick apart and ask what you are eating for lunch, going to company dinners, having to "tell your preference" out loud and sort of defend it. Well, let's just say it is harder for me to do that gracefully than it is Mr. Right. He embraces his choices.

Our dinner invitations and party invitations have become more infrequent. You bet, we take a lovely hostess gift. You bet we are polite and conversational. Heck, we even shower and put on our Sunday best to show up on time. Yes indeed, we
send a wonderful thank you note or flowers. It is just that people have told us, we don't invite you because we don't know what to serve you.


Mr. Right eats one piece of turkey on Thanksgiving just so he doesn't have to tell people he is a vegetarian.


Golly, if you ever feel lonely or in need of some conversation, just tell people you
home schooled your children and are vegetarian. Folks come out of the woodwork to give you their opinion. (warning, not all of those opinions are kind & nice)


After chatting with a friend, I now understand some days I am stronger to accept criticism about our lifestyle than others. Today was not one of those days.


"Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an
angry bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian." ~S. Barr