Oh Geez!
Well....where to begin..... I am newly veg and decided not to really tell people about it unless it came up. My reasoning behind that is I figured if I didn't make a big deal out of it, neither would anyone else.....maybe that was wrong....I don't know.
So, my sister and her fiance came to visit this weekend! At dinner (at a 3 margaritas restaurant) I ordered veggie enchiladas. My sister makes the comment "So what, are you vegetarian now?" Obviously I'm not gonna lie, I say yes. Wow!!!!! I got all and anything from...what is wrong with you...how will you stay healthy....what is wrong with you... from my husband I got "well,I'm still eating meat no matter what you say. you don't think you can make me give up meat do you"..... okay....what the F*&#! all that from answering yes. It was so much "fun" I had to order another double margarita (LOL)! OH....and my sister felt the need to continually reinforce the fact that I am the only vegetarian in the in the family.....a family of 'meat-eaters', blah, blah, blah!
Well...me being as sensitive as I am, I cried all night and the next morning.....they all felt really bad about how they reacted. Hubby and I talked (really talked) the next day and he's cool with it. So is my sis. I think I just caught them off guard AND I am admittedly very sensitive.
That just really sucked. It makes me sad that people (even people close to me) can be so weird about it.
Honestly (confession) my dad asked me why I was eating tofu instead of steak like everyone else on father's day and I didn't really answer him because I was afraid of "that" reaction again.
Anyone else had a similar experience?????
I think most of us have, one way or another. The one I "treasure" is talking to two women who are morbidly obese and being told very rudely by one of them that "vegetarianism isn't healthy." Yeah? Like you would know, little Miss Triple Bypass! This from a woman who is borderline diabetic and eats cake like mad whenever she attends a potluck, like it doesn't count.
The second lady, who told me she "just didn't have the willpower" to even cut back on food, has recently been obliged to go vegan. She was misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia; changed doctors and the new one ran all kinds of tests. Turns out she is lactose intolerant, intolerant to any kind of fish, and has a very low tolerance for animal protiens, so meat is out too! Unfortunately she doesn't read English or I would turn her on to VegWeb. I am trying to be very helpful but it's hard not to gloat.
Actually, poohbear, if your sensitive reaction opened the lines of communication with your DH and made your family aware of their obnoxious behaviour, maybe it's all to the good. Maybe now they won't be so hurtful when faced with something "different."
Usually it's the one's that are close to us that are the most weird. They know what buttons to push. However, they are also the ones that will give us the most unconditional support, if we expect it and demand it. You have to nip it in the bud when it happens, and simply say "please support me in this...." or "I don't expect you to understand but please don't make fun of me....." stuff like that. My ex learned real fast he had no choice but to support my vegetarianism and I was not to be a source of public ridicule.
The longer you're a vegetarian, the more people get used to it and settle down.
Yes, I think this is something every vegetarian goes through at least once. I am also the only vegetarian in my family. I used to get the response from my mom "why do you have to eat so wierd?" She refused to accept it at first and she would grill meat, and cook potatoes and corn on the cob in the side. I ate the potatoes and corn on the cob but of course no meat. I can tell she was feeling like: well, if she want's to eat so wierd she can just starve, but it bothered her because he wants to see me happy too.
Now it has been awhile and she has gotten used to it and her attitude is totally cool. Now she is like, "gives me new recipies to try to cook!" and she seems genuinely excited about cooking all this new stuff. Though I don't want to break her heart and tell her that I prefer to cook for myself. She tends to think that she has to replace meat with a butt load of cheese, and I don't really care for cheese anymore either, a concept she can not grasp. Just be patient, and gentle, they will get used to the idea and eventually come to accept it. I think it was just a shock to them.
Hugs to you pooh bear. Just give it time - they'll get used to the idea.
Actually, poohbear, if your sensitive reaction opened the lines of communication with your DH and made your family aware of their obnoxious behaviour, maybe it's all to the good. Maybe now they won't be so hurtful when faced with something "different."
ya, I suppose. i just get embarrassed over crying in front of people, i cry over everything! :)
It sounds like you handled it beautifully and even got to have a heartfelt chat with you husband. That should be a good outcome even with the tears.
*hugs*
I would have never imagined this, but just feed everyone good food and try not to be militant about your beliefs (<-that's hard for me!) and you'd be surprised who becomes more open-minded. My grandmother actually emailed Martha Stewart to get vegan recipes for my last birthday!
I couldn't agree more! Preaching to people will just turn them off to vegetarians and I don't want to do that! I told my husband I would still cook him whatever he wanted, meat or otherwise. That this is just a change I want to make for personal reasons. He didn't really believe me.... he thinks I'm going to slowly take the meat away or something or that I'm going to start preaching..... whatever. I guess it will just take time for him to see!
On a more positive note, when hubby and I actually talked about it alone (and he apologized for his intial reaction) he was very receptive and accepting of it. He even made some cute comment about if I make tasty tofu for dinner I am going to have to share it with him :)>>>
She tends to think that she has to replace meat with a butt load of cheese, and I don't really care for cheese anymore either, a concept she can not grasp.
LOL, that's kind of funny and cute! She's trying but I totally know what you mean. I feel the same way.....