Dude, I am with You

Camille, my seven-year-old came into the kitchen two weeks ago and announced, ‘I am now a vegetarian’. ‘Cool’, I said. And that was about it. I figured that she wouldn't stick to it; forget about it after a couple of days, or give in to her love of sausages.

Everyday, as we are driving home after school I ask the girls, ‘What did you have for lunch today?’ (they prefer hot lunch at school, thank God. Although I am all about cooking, making two very different lunches for two very different girls in the morning is a drag).

Claire: ‘I had pasta with butter’ (this is the same everyday).
Camille: ‘I had vegetarian chili’.
Me: ‘Is that what they served all the kids for lunch?’
Camille: ‘No, they served regular chili, but Celan [Camille’s friend who speaks German, which is helpful, because much of the staff at the girls’ school speaks only German] asked the lunch lady if we could have two vegetarian meals’.
Me: ‘Camille, how come you decided to become a vegetarian?’
Camille: ‘Because I don’t want to hurt animals anymore‘
Me: ‘Dude, I am with you’.

And so it goes. Everyday, Celan asks for two vegetarian lunches for she and Camille (which reminds me, Camille has got to get better at speaking German). And every night I try and come up with, at the very least a meatless alternative for Camille, but sometimes a vegetarian dinner for us all.