Caroline and I were on our way to the library the other day because I want her to be a fan of the books.
Since she shares 50% of her daddy’s DNA and his favorite book is the hardcover edition of the Cabela’s catalog, I sometimes worry that I’m fighting an uphill battle.
So as we’re driving along I asked her, “What kind of books are you going to check out today?”
“I want to get some books on science. I want to learn more about a lot of science stuff.”
“Are you adopted?”
Oh, of course I didn’t say that.
I said, “That’s great. We’ll look for books about science.”
And then maybe you can teach Mama something.
“Okay. I want to learn about science because when I grow up I want to be a vegetarian!”
Seriously? A vegetarian?
Were you switched at birth?
Is there some lovely vegan couple somewhere wondering why their four year old cries for hamburgers night and day?
We are red state Republicans. We watch Nascar. We hunt and fish. We eat meat.
We subscribe to the theory that vegetables are what food eats.
These are all the thoughts that are running through my head.
But all I say is, “You really want to be a vegetarian?”
“Yes. I want to help animals get better when they’re sick. That’s what vegetarians do.”
Well, if by help them you mean not eat them, then you’re exactly right.
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You would not believe all the “fun” science books out there now for kids. I wouldn’t know about them, myself, but for my boys who insist on reading about – get this – facts.
Facts! Who needs ‘em?
Yet another reason why I’m a fan of Big Mama – you just admitted to watching NASCAR!
Word mix-ups are the cutest. I bought a mango at the grocery store this week that they kids keep calling a flamango.
And since K insisted that I explain “how the pigs make the ham & pork chops” last night at dinner, I may have 3 more young vegetarians to join Caroline.
One of my FAVORITE commercials when I was in middle school was a ditzy blond who said, “…and I don’t eat meat, ’cause I’m a vet-rinarian.” (She had a cute little ditzy pause there.
) Do you remember that one?
Haha! I have a good friend who’s in Vegetarian School right now at UGA. She’ll love this.
My Dh considers books by Louis Lamore to be a genre in itself, so you can imagine who does all the library hauling around here.
And how handy is that for you that Texas A&M has the best vet school in the state?
LOL.
Now I am sending this to my vegetarian sister-in-law. ;>)
Oh, we love the library. I think my kid has a little crush on the librarian.
That is the second story I have heard of getting those words mixed up….too cute!
I asked my first graders “What does a musician do?” One little girl held up her hand and confindently said “A musician is a person who does magic.” So cute.
Good golly your girl makes my day every time. Were I not a meat eate myself, I might try to be the Vegan in question. Sadly though, I like my meat too much.
Plus, I kinda adore my own girls too much to trade em in.
“…vegetables are what food eats.” I never looked at it that way.
There’s hope for her. It sounds like your P and my P were separated at birth. Cabella’s, Texas Field and Stream, basically any periodical with a picture of some guy holding up a dead animal’s head. Dear antlers drying on the back porch, I swear we don’t live in a trailer park. Anyway, both of my kids are huge readers and really love all kinds of books. They also love to put on their camo and climb into daddy’s diesel for a day of killing birds, I mean providing for our family. I’ll meet you at Nordstroms!
Our Kylie wants to be a “vegetarian,” too. Perhaps they will be in class together at A&M someday.
I love it–especially the part about vegetables being what our food eats
Good one, Melanie!
Oh my gosh, that is so cute. What as sweet thing to want to help animals. I just love it when kids mix up words. They come up with some funny things.
I wonder if most veterinarians are vegetarians.
That’s one of the cutest little mix ups I’ve heard in a long time.
Ahh.. this is too funny! I love little kid word mix-ups.
When we married my husband had only read TWO books cover to cover – In the Arena with Pat Dye and Bo Knows Bo (These would BOTH be related to Auburn football). I have no idea how he made it through high school and college with good grades! Thankfully as an adult, he reads!! Spending many hours on an airplane made him discover the paperback. I missed your friday post on “must have products”. Three girls with dance recitals will erase any computer time. I know I’m late to the party, but my new flat iron is so incredible that I want to shout it from the mountain tops (if we had mountain tops in Alabama). It is the Sedu and it is quite pricey, but worth EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR!! It takes my fluffy hair and makes it straight and silky like never before. I love it as much as my DVR (and that’s big time love)!
Love it! I always wanted to be a veterinarian too, until I found out it would involve me poking animals with needles. That cured me quick. Needles are not my friends.
Vegetarian: an old Indian word meaning bad hunter.
Sounds as if she may share some DNA with the Twins.
I had a feeling that she meant something else when she started. She’s been known to put down a chicken nugget a time or two if I recall correctly…
The Girl has a theory that cows are really vegetables. Cows eat corn, corn is a vegetable. Knowing that you are what you eat, a cow is really a big corn cob in disguise. Of course that makes me out to be a cow or a chicken or a pig in most cases… But hey, whatever works!
I love it! Absolutely love it! Did you find some good books for her?
Makes me think of the bumper sticker that says: I love animals — especially with ketchup.
Or the other: If we weren’t supposed to eat animals, why did God make them out of meat?
(And to Aunt LoLo: I think the song to which you’re referring is “Cause I’m a Blonde.” It’s a classic 80s ditty. “I’m a freshmen in my fourth year at UCLA but my goal is to become a veterinarian because I love children.”)
So now that I know you watch Nascar, I wanna know who y’all pull for. Let me guess…Jr??
That totally reminds me of when my daughter called Phoebe (from Friends) a virgin when she meant to call her a vegetarian.
Emily
http://twodogsrunningsouth.blogspot.com
Hahahaha! you could have given me a “spit alert!” How cute! I love it how kids get words mixed up but have the right idea! That is great that she is thinking about things. . . tell you that her mind is working!
That reminded me of the movie “Liar,Liar” when the little boy tells his class that his daddy is a liar and his teacher says, “You mean a lawyer”!
ha ha ha. LOL. Thanks for sharing this story. I love this question: “Is there some lovely vegan couple somewhere wondering why their four year old cries for hamburgers night and day??
That is exactly what I would have thought, too.
Bwhahaha! Why can I see her all serious when she said this?
My (24 yo) daughter just informed me she wants to be a vegequarium (fish and veggies)–this out of the mouth of one who eats entire white meals of carbs. Her dad always says he wants to eat something that had parents. Okay, don’t tell Caroline that one, or she’ll be a lifelong convert. From another red-meat Texan.
WEll you dodged a bullet on that one – I was wondering what was to come with the freezer of deer meat when Caroline demanded no meat in the house.
Good one.
Oh my gosh thats too funny!
So funny!
We are all of those things in a family that you described too, and my husband counts one of his biggest accomplishments in life as getting me to eat red meat right after we were married when I’d sworn it off since middle school.
I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was a kid until I helped my friend take her psycho cat to the vet and I changed my mind. Vet schools are really competitive so she will probably need to start studying now.
When they hit puberty, they announce all kind of larger than life choices. The first time it happens, your heart stops cold or races because you think, “Where have I gone wrong?” After the 56th time, the shock value wears off, and you’re like, “OK, maybe you can call me once in a while from your new home in the underground commune that broadcasts NPR 24/7 and your ‘family’ only eats hydro-vegetables.”
Oh vegetarian school! I wanted to go there too. Then I discovered that I would have to take care of snakes. It was a short dream.
Did you see Naco Libre with Jack Black? Because all I can do is picture Caroline saying, “People make fun of me because I believe in science.”
I think I need to borrow this line:
We subscribe to the theory that vegetables are what food eats.
As a veterinarian who sees cows and pigs on a daily basis, I can say that in our part of the rural Midwest (Iowa), veterinarians are most certainly not vegetarians.
I’ve enjoyed your blog for some time, but this is my first time commenting. The spiritual insight is great–thank you! Those Fashion Friday posts even help me become the most glamourous vet in green coveralls in the county. Ha ha.
When my daughter was in 4th grade I would reward her good report cards by allowing her to pick a restaraunt for dinner out. She chose a stand in line buffet place that was very VERY busy…so as we sand in line in this packed place I say “what did you learn today at school?”…her response “We learned about erections!”….then repeated it very loudly…..yup…we learned about erections!!”….. Well as you can imagine everyone within earshot turned around and was listening……I leaned over and whispered to her that she could tell me all about it when we were seated. well we finally got our table and she proceeded to tell me that is was all about the justice system and it was “HOUSE ARREST” not erections…..Pam, South Bend
Tell Caroline that a bad Happy Meal sent me onward to the vegetarian train for several years. (The hubs, then the boyfriend, brought a Happy Meal for me when I was crashing on portfolio prep in the printmaking studio while in college. Food poisoning kicked in within 20 minutes.) The vegetarian train was just fine. Vegetables are our friends. They are good!
– Blue in a Red State
As a first grade teacher with 14 days to go (and the students KNOW this–why did I teach them to count? DRAT!), I need the laughter, but I need to know even more that there are children who actually care about learning this time of year! Thank you, Caroline! (Story reminds me of Gilda Radner’s SNL skit with Rosanne Rosanna Danna…”Oh, VETERANARIAN. Never mind.”)
I love to read; my husband detests it. (Actual quote: Know what I liked about the movie? No reading) (Ok, true confessions, that’s Jim Gaffigan. But Donn stole it) Out of 3 kids, they all read!! One is less of a reader than the other two, but I definitely feel I kicked my husband’s gene pool’s butt! So do not despair.
My daughters also have DNA that is 50% Cabelas-soaked so I understand just what you are saying.
Mercifully, my 4-year-old is a total bookworm and a fashionista. On the other hand, the only thing she loves more than a princess dress is a good, sturdy Carhartt bib & somewhere to wear it with her Daddy by her side.
And, I think that’s pretty great.
This conversation made my stomach hurt I was laughing so hard! I will be linking to it on my blog, if you don’t mind!
My old boss always used to say, “If God didn’t want us to eat animals then he wouldn’t have made them out of meat.”
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