Veg Restaurants Take Over the World and Unpleasant Grandparents...

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> Posted by: " Lisa " lisaviafamily lisaviafamily

> Thu Jun 15, 2006 8:31 pm (PST)

> Thanks for the info. I live in Manassas, but I'm not above traveling

> great distances for veggie food! I actually go to the office in

> Rockville once a week, and I know there is a great veggie restaurant

> right at the White Flint metro. I've been there once, but haven't

> made it there since my office moved there. What are the other two

> restaurants in your mom's area? TIA Lisa

>

Vegetable Garden is the one by White Flint, and the former " House of

Chinese Chicken " on Twinbrook is now the " House of Chinese Tofu " . I

haven't eaten there since they switched - a friend just told me the

other day that it's more traditional Chinese and not *everything* is

vegetarian, and it can be hard to tell what is and isn't.

 

We had a lot of fun at Yuan Fu tonight - it was *packed* with fathers

celebrating with their families, which was just... cool. My husband

kept being astounded by all the people there who " weren't hippies. "

Well, hey, he just finished up his second meatless day in a row, I'm

ok with his attitudes changing slowly, as long as they're changing.

And the kid insisted on the steamed white jade rolls, and she ATE

MUSHROOMS. Which she's never done without gagging before. And spinach,

which she has, but only very cleverly hidden in things. Who knew all

it'd take was telling her she shouldn't order something off the menu

because it was too grown-up for her?

 

The husband's also convinced his parents that they have to try this

place when they come up, and they're actually excited about it.

Texans! The ones that thought my child would be dead before she turned

two because we weren't feeding her pureed beef as a first food! Sorry

for the shouting, but I'm sure most of you understand the disapproving

relative thing and it's exciting when they finally realize you're not

an idiot who's killing their grandchild.

 

For the others who wrote about that very thing - it's harsh, but at

this point, my inlaws know that if they pull stunts like sneaking in

meat, they won't get to see our daughter without me standing there

breathing down their necks and inspecting every particle of food from

store to plate. It's not nice, and it's not pleasant, but it did show

them that I really meant it, and it was really important, and while I

wasn't shrill or nasty, I wasn't ever going to change, either, so

they'd have to get used to it. It's also part of the territory marking

thing you kind of have to do with kids sometimes - grandparents

already raised their kids, so they think that a) they're the experts

and b) these kids are theirs too, and you shouldn't be messing them up

by not doing what they (the experts, remember?) did. Sometimes you

have to be a little firmer than you might want to to assert your own

authority.

 

(And sometimes you can find compromise treats - we don't give Kira

things that have high fructose corn syrup or red dye in them, but

those aren't battles we've chosen to fight with the 'rents, so she

gets Elmo snacks only at their houses and they can feel like they're

winning SOMETHING, at least.)

 

Eventually they'll give up and accept that you're right, or at least

stubborn enough that it's not worth fighting over. Hopefully, anyway.

If you're lucky, they might even do a little research and decide that

maybe there is something to this not-eating-meat thing...

 

Good luck. I know it's hard, and it's one conflict I'm really happy to

have behind me (until she turns howeverold and decides she wants to

try meat and the grandparents are only too happy to oblige... not

looking forward to that one, but hey, at least it's a few years off,

right?)

 

-kt

 

 

 

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