Flexitarianism

A lot of people - and by people, I mean participants in reality TV shows - like to give more than 100% of their efforts towards whatever generic goal is set before them. That way failure can be blamed on something other than effort. Perhaps someone else had the advantage of physical fitness, longer arms or a heretofore unknown ability to stack puzzle pieces into the likeness of Lincoln...whatever the case, lack of effort is never a contributing factor.

I'm not sure I've ever given more than 100% to anything. I don't think I even believe in the concept. Three natural births and I'm fairly certain that I have yet to achieve complete, total, effort. Didn't I rest, have moments of inattention, contemplate the ceiling tiles, wonder how long it could possibly take for Chris to park a car? Maybe it's just me. A little bit of over-thinking and every action loses about 10% effort. I over-think a lot.

Key words: Action Plan

If you have a really good action plan, with diagrams and lists, sometimes you run out of time or energy for actual action. My current state of being involves a serious thinking process that culminates in two theoretical project completions - a de-junked garage and a painted/rearranged/cleaned girls' room. (Updates pending but I would not be holding my breath). Not to forget the vegetable garden that needs starting, IKEA furniture to assemble, and all of the regular bits and baubles of scut work that still hold prominent position on the "to-do" list. I would say I'm behind, and that is probably a kind assessment of how far from a hypothetical state of project completion I really am.

Now we add the earnest desire of a 11.5 year old to "be a vegetarian."

Emile has a friend that has gone vegan and we (Chrisabelle plus Emile) have been discussing the odd lack of family support she seems to be getting. We don't really know as all of our information is filtered through the lens of teens, but we're willing to believe that the average American household would have major changes to make in order to accommodate a vegan. In this case, they've opted to let her buy and make her own meals. From the standpoint of a household that cooks regularly from scratch, eats an enormous variety of vegetables, shops organic and local, I have been happily basking in the parental one-upmanship of our "supportive" parenting style which should have been an indicator of a pending karmic stumbling block. Inspired by this very cool girl and an apparently new love of cows, Reine has declared herself a vegetarian.

We eat a lot of greens but we also like this t-shirt http://www.threadless.com/product/490/Meat_is_Murder_Tasty_Tasty_Murder so an earlier attempt by Chris to have 3+ "meatless" days failed. Quantity reduction - absolutely! Total elimination and the omnivore crowd started to grumble. He blames me as the Omnivore Club president but I think he didn't give 117% and anything shy of more than total effort should be considered not trying hard enough. At least, that's my new position on this issue.

So this is where things currently stand. After some research (all mom) we have settled on what I will call Pesco Lacto Ovo Vegetarianism a semi-vegetarianism that includes fruits de mer, dairy, and eggs. Plus there are several key requirements to the PLOV diet:

1 a better acronym
2 enthusiasm for vegetables - in particular the ability to eat something you may not love but doesn't produce a gag reflex either
3 willingness to try everything more than once to "acquire" the taste
4 if regular people should have 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day a vegetarian should have at least 10
5 a prohibition from telling everyone you meet that you are a vegetarian until you are at the Lacto Ovo stage and no longer technically a flesh eater

So really the flexitarian is me, as I force myself off the high horse of parental superiority and get down to the nitty gritty of helping my baby try something new in a way that is healthy and informed. (Note to self - it is easier to make them do everything themselves). It's hard to struggle against a kid who is asking to add more vegetables to their diet. At least it's hard to struggle without feeling like a hypocrite. Chris will get his meatless days and I will feel like a flexible, supportive parent which is a 100% good thing. Maybe even 110%