I have to accept that you’re simply in that stage of life right now where you’re ultimately building immunity to sicknesses- in other words, you’re getting sick a lot these days.
Really though, I’d prefer for you to just to get it all out of the way now, while you’re still a baby.
As a parent, this is one of the most anxious stages of raising a child. Since Mommy and I both work full time, there are only so many sick days and vacation days we can take turns using to stay home with you when you can’t go to daycare.
Mommy and I both worked the New Year’s Holiday this year, while Nonna and Papa watched you, so we can help rebuild our dwindling pool of sick and vacation days.
Of course, there’s obviously some irony in there. We work so hard to provide for you, yet we have to keep you in daycare- but then when you get sick, we actually get to spend all day with you, not working- while we care for you in your sickness.
I have this theory that because it’s been such a warm winter so far, that it creates an environment for sickness to abound. So maybe I welcome the cold, the ice, the snow.
The sad thing is I can’t remember the last time you weren’t either sick, recovering from being sick, or about to get sick again. In the midst of adding new viruses and illnesses to your collection, it’s as if you don’t know what it’s like to be normal… to not be sick.
Yet still, you are the same smiley little baby girl- who, might I add, is really enjoying crawling these days. It’s like you’re a cute little puppy who follows us around.
Thanksgiving 2008 was the last time I ate ham, bacon, or any kind of pork; or shellfish of any kind- like shrimp, lobster, crab, or scallops. In other words, since the day after Thanksgiving 2008, I became and have remained kosher. That’s been 8 years now.
Since then, I only further slid down the slippery slope; eventually becoming and remaining a vegetarian in December 2011 and a vegan in April 2013.
What makes this particularly interesting is that I am a male. Our American culture teaches and accepts that eating bacon and beef is a particularly masculine thing to do. Most American vegetarians and vegans are females. So therefore, my being a male vegan is especially counter-cultural.
Granted, I feel no less masculine despite what I (don’t) eat.
It was exactly five years ago today I decided to adopt an American alternative lifestyle: I stopped eating meat. Somewhat to my surprise, my wife immediately joined me in my crazy decision. And our 1 year-old son got thrown into it as well.
Now he’s 6 years-old and has no interest in eating meat. I should also point out my wife and I also have a 7 month-old daughter now, who currently is a vegetarian by default.
I have to say this, though: Becoming a vegetarian is not a choice I want you to make- nor do I need you to become a vegetarian either. I want to be very clear about that.
Instead, I beg you to keep eating sausage, bacon, burgers, and fried chicken. In fact, I cordially invite you to stop reading this immediately and eat a big juicy McRib right now. Yes, I endorse that…
Why wouldn’t I? What other families eat has nothing to do with me- just like I could care less which candidate anybody else voted for in the recent election. My emotional state of being wouldn’t change no matter the outcome.
I’m like Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive: “I don’t care!”
Proving that being a vegetarian is the better way of life is no agenda of mine. In fact, I envy eat meaters. I seriously do.
If you’re part of the majority of America, meaning that you are not a vegetarian, then you get to eat meat. Whenever you want. As much as you want. You have much more freedom than I do- and you have a certain kind of happiness in your life that I’ll never again enjoy: the scandalous feeling of devouring a cheeseburger.
As for me, I have learned I can’t be trusted with such responsibility.
I have learned that when it comes to eating meat, I have never nor would I ever just simply eat the maximum 4 to 7 ounces serving per day that nutritionists recommend. I always ate least double that; each meal, every meal.
Mentally, I’m not strong enough to overcome the desire to keep eating meat. I was never truly satisfied with meat… there was never enough no matter how much I ate.
The irony is that by restricting myself to no meat at all, I can be in control of my desires and my appetite. Because that way, there’s not room for gray. There’s no possibility of eating too much meat if I can’t have meat at all.
My protein comes from 6 main sources: vegetables, fruits, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds.
I will openly admit to having very selfish motives to becoming a vegetarian: It’s an easy way to manage my weight, I never have indigestion issues anymore, and it led to me becoming a vegan; which ultimately wiped out my ongoing eczema, sinus issues, and pet allergies.
Those personal issues have nothing to do with the rest of the world. Instead, my reasons are self-centered. So there is no need to try convert anyone. I’m simply selfish in my reasons for being a vegetarian.
Perhaps I would be a better human being if I did care more; if I did spend some efforts in trying to convince people to be healthier by cutting out meat from their diets.
But I’m simply uninspired. I learned early on that most people are still convinced that by becoming a vegetarian, they will not get enough protein in their diet.
Clearly, I’ve proved that theory to be false in my own life. After all, I’ve lived this for 5 solid years. I would know!
Sure, I lost weight when I became a vegetarian. But look at me now. I’m not a skeleton. I look healthy. And I am healthy- my doctor confirmed this.
Even it means I am selfish, I would rather other people keep believing they need to eat meat to be healthy; even though I know it’s not true in my own life. By me trying to convince them against what they’ve been taught their whole lives, it endangers me of reinforcing the stereotype that vegetarians are judgmental and overzealous.
So now at the risk of sounding jaded instead, I invite absolutely no one else in the world to join me by becoming a vegetarian.
(Of course, it’s a whole different story if you approach me about becoming a vegetarian or vegan. In that case, I will be honored to guide you!)
Now, please- go to the McDonald’s drive-thru and order a McRib. It’s not too late. They’re still open. Actually, I hear you can get 2 for $5 right now…
I want to be clear about two things right off the bat:
First, I do not sell essential oils nor do I make any supplemental income from endorsing them; nor am I involved in any kind of platform network to promote essential oils. Similarly, I am not affiliated with any brand, distributor, or salesperson.
In other words, I truly am a 3rd party. I’m a regular guy with zero interest in selling essential oils.
The 2nd thing I want to be clear on is that a month and a half ago, I patiently/strategically/successfully trained my infant daughter to sleep through the night. Therefore, I am not saying that Frankincense is the reason my daughter sleeps through the night- instead, I’m claiming that Frankincense helps her sleep more solidly through the night, as opposed to not using Frankincense at all.
So for the past month and a half my wife, my daughter, and I have been getting much better sleep. Life has been much more enjoyable since then.
For well over a month now, there has been no need to feed our daughter after 9 PM nor to feed her before 5:30 AM; nor to change her diaper. She sleeps through the night, thanks to my deliberate sleep training strategy that I also used our son who is now 6 years old.
However, there have been many nights in which I have had to run upstairs to place our daughter’s pacifier in her mouth, after hearing her start crying during the night. Once I placed the pacifier back in, she’s typically been fine for the next several hours.
Fortunately, my wife figured out along the way that Frankincense essential oil has had a lot to do with the nights that our daughter never cries once through the night; meaning that literally I don’t have to wake up again after I fall asleep either.
To be clear, the nights my wife didn’t use Frankincense essential oil in the diffuser in our daughter’s room, our baby girl was more likely to wake up during the night and need me to slip the pacifier back in.
But when Frankincense was used in the diffuser, she was more likely to not wake up at all again until morning time.
(By the way, I never even bought the essential oil or the diffuser- my mom gave them to us.)
This is my real life. I am a real person. This is my human experience. I have no need (or monetary reason) to prove Frankincense helps my 7 month-old daughter sleep better. I simply am writing about this to help other parents out there.
I just know it works.
Now, ready to buy some essential oils from me? Just kidding.
You’re likely reading this because you fall into one of two categories: Either you’re a fellow vegan like me… or you’re simply curious to see what a Thanksgiving looks like without the traditional turkey and dressing.
Well, I can’t speak for most plant-based families out there, but I can definitely tell you what our family did for Thanksgiving this year.
We had a very vegan, and Mexican, feast.
Why Mexican? The main reason is because it was the easiest menu for my wife to plan and prepare; not to mention, we were travelling with the food for 3 hours from Tennessee to Alabama.
The other reason, though it could arguable be a coincidence, is that my side of the family is part Mexican; so it simply seemed natural to do so.
When we drove in the night before Thanksgiving, my mom made some homemade Michoacán style “tacos” for my wife and me to try. The recipe was one that my Grandma (who was full Mexican) passed on to my mom.
Plus, we made vegan pancakes. Not to mention, avocado toast. And some breakfast muffins, using chia seeds as part of the recipe.
The next day for our actual Thanksgiving Day feast, we had a taco bar. My wife cooked up 3 pounds of Beyond Meat (made from pea protein) for the main filling. Plus, my mom prepared black beans, pinto beans, and refried beans. We of course had veggies to dress the tacos, as well as avocado, which serves as a high-fat cheese substitute. There was also some really healthy black rice with almonds; so hearty!
My mom also made some bean salads for sides and pumpkin pie for dessert.
There was so much food that we still had enough left over to have the meal again the next day. Both times we had the meal, we had guests over. We didn’t tell them it was vegan, but they seemed to enjoy it just the same.
So, there you go. That’s what we had for our Thanksgiving feast. And it worked so well, we plan to repeat our menu again for Christmas!
Whatever brings you to this blog post today, please know that you are welcome here. No pressure at all for you to adopt the wildly strange and counter-cultural lifestyle I have lived for many years now.
Just enjoy the scenery and scratch your head in wonder. It’s okay. This is a safe place.
With your birthday and Papa’s birthday only being 5 days apart, we were happy to have Nonna and Papa up for the weekend; as we were able to celebrate both birthdays together.
You specifically asked for Nonna to make and bring some pumpkin pie. Friday was Papa’s actual birthday, so we had the pie instead of birthday cake. I’m glad you made that request because we all loved it!
After we had already eaten the “birthday pumpkin pie” and I was cleaning up, I heard Nonna say, “Jack turns 6 and Papa turns 60!”
I immediately attempted to correct her: “No, Papa is only 59…”
So after spending Friday evening celebrating Papa’s 59th birthday, I realized we were actually celebrating his 60th birthday instead… What a major milestone birthday to get wrong!
On Sunday after church, we all went to Grecian Pizzeria for lunch. Despite having lived in Spring Hill now for nearly 2 years, we only recently tried it out. I wish we would have sooner!
It is an ideal place for our family to eat. It is very vegan-friendly and vegetarian friendly; which is vital to our family.
So now we don’t have to drive 30 minutes away to Mellow Mushroom or Whole Foods when we want to go somewhere fun for dinner.
You thought it was pretty cool that the waitress displayed your drawing on their wall.
During our lunch there, I realized this: Papa is 60 years old, you are 6 years old, and Holly is 6 months old. While that is pretty cool, I’m not sure I feel so confident about three 6’s…
To officially celebrate your 6th birthday, we actually spent the whole day Saturday at Opry Mills Mall in Nashville. But since I took so many pictures of the event, you’ll have to give me about another week to get that all arranged…
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