No more meat! At least don't talk about it!

I think that maybe, well not maybe... for sure... I should stop eating meat.  I am a meat lover, so I have struggled with the concept of going meat free.  It is the kids fault.  All their fault!!  I am not so much an animal lover, at least not a dead animal lover as I am a meat lover.  Does that make sense?  I'll explain.

Here's how it goes down at the Johns family dinner table.  Carson especially Carson feels some burning need to talk about whatever we are eating.  "Is this cow, or pig?  Oh this is a tasty cow.  Is the cow the one that says MOO or is it the one with the feathers?"

"Carson. PLEASE don't talk about the food, just eat the food", I beg each time.  

30 seconds later Coren starts in.  "Mom, why do we eat a cow, I like cows?"

Kenna tries to help (she sits across from me, and my face says it all).

I feel my food slowly coming back up and gathering in my throat until it can build up enough pressure to shoot across the room.  The thought of a cow, or a chicken, or a nasty pig in my gut seems wrong.  My body loves the taste, but my mind cannot handle the thought.

I try to eat on.  EAT ON I TELL MYSELF!  YOU CAN DO IT!  I try to get my mind off it.  I can't; those little twerps ruin the meal for me.

The next night or two we go without meat.  One day Steve looked at the dinner and said, "It looks like we are slowly becoming vegetarians.  We are aren't we."

I nodded my head and enjoyed my meal.

This has been going on for some time now.  Tonight, something happened that was more than I could handle.  Again, Carson spoke.  "Mom, I thought you said these were chicken legs.  They aren't."

At the same time me and Kenna said, "Carson, don't talk about the food, just eat it!"

"But, Mom.  You got the chicken head! (He said it like I had won a prize)  See... there are the eyes; those two bumps on the top of the head."

I looked down at the chicken that looked so delicious when it came out of the oven.  Sure enough there were two bumps on the bottom of the leg staring back at me.

Upon further examination there was some weird bloody stuff and some black stuff that was a strange texture.  I think I will go and throw up now!

My oh my how kids change our lives.