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Westley has picked up the word "vegan." It's about time, really. We've been feeding him a vegan diet since he was born (since before he was born, really). He'll be munching on a cookie, and then, out of nowhere, look up and ask, "Is dis vegan?"
"It sure is, dude," I'll tell him, and he'll carry on his munching.
I know the interest in whether this or that is vegan has come from several conversations in grocery stores that went something like:
Westley [pointing to a box]: I want dat!
Me: Hang on, lemme see... [Reads the label.] Oh, nope. These have cow's milk in them. They're not vegan. Let's find you something that is vegan. [Quickly finds an acceptable substitute.] How about this?
Westley: Yeah!
Very straightforward, nothing dramatic. And Westley's happy because he usually gets a treat out of it.
On one hand, I'm kind of surprised that it took this long for the word "vegan" to come up around Westley. But on the other hand, eating a vegan diet isn't something we talk about much; we just do it. The food is there, on the table, healthful and delicious...and it just happens to be animal-free. I figure Westley has plenty of time to figure out that not everyone eats the way we do.
Now that the V-word has come up, however, I find myself adding more modifiers to the food I serve Westley. Since their introduction, all of the non-dairy milks were just "milk," soy or rice cheese was just "cheese," seitan mock-meatballs were just "meatballs." But now I hear myself telling Westley he has rice cheese and vegan meatballs on his plate. And I wonder if I should have started this conversation sooner. In fact, I'm almost certain I should have.
Westley came tearing into the house on Monday afternoon and asked, "Mommy, do you want some chicken?"
The boys had just come from their lunch date at one of our favorite all-vegan Asian restaurants. Rob explained that Westley had relished the almond chicken-style strips, repeatedly exclaiming that he loved chicken! And that he would like some more chicken!
"It made me kind of uncomfortable," Rob confessed, and I nodded.
We've been closeted vegans in the past, but with Westley's growing vocabulary - not to mention his growing interest in and awareness of the world around him - it's time we started living out and proud. As the happy, healthy, food-loving vegan family we are.
I must admit, however, that I'm not really sure what that means. I suspect it will involve conversations that are a little less straightforward and non-dramatic as the ones I've been having with Westley in grocery store aisles.
(It may also involve a "food" section here. I'm not quite sure about that yet.)
