Stewardship

I am not good with money.  I didn't get that genetic component when the Cardone and Erikson gene pool mingled.  I got the funny, devil may care, alcoholic gene.  My brother got the sensible, practical, save money because it's a very good thing to do gene.  I have never been motivated by money.  As a young adult up until I got pregnant with my son in 1995 I supported myself by waiting tables.  That was a perfect gig for me; I liked to chat with people, I liked food, and I liked cash in my pocket.  I'm not sure if it was my father's philandering ways or my mother and step-father's gross display of wealth that kept me from making money as an end in itself.  Money was always the means for me.

I want to believe that when the writers of the Hebrew Scripture were pulling together some creation stories and came up with Gen. 1-2 they didn't really mean "dominate" and "rule" as it has been interpreted over the ages.  God created all of these amazing animals, creatures of the air and sea, plants, and planets, and I am sure God didn't create these things so that human kind, i.e. Monsanto, could develop a genetically modified soybean seed that they would then use to manipulate and control farmers and food production and then pass it on to consumers in the processed foods that line our grocery store shelves so they could then be a gazillion, trillion dollar company and keep it all for themselves.  I am sure God did not mean that at all.

In fact, Gen.1:29-30 says, "God said, 'See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.  And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food."  Aha! No where in there does God say, "So I made the cows to eat green grass. So what! Go ahead, teach them how to eat corn so you, human kind, can grow fatter cows, pump them full of antibiotics and hormones, let them stand in their own manure all day, and then slaughter them and send them off to market in plastic shrink rap!"

I have been hearing a lot about "having dominion over the earth" being translated as stewardship, to act as a manager of, or oversee something like property, a household, the environment.  For me being a steward means overseeing for a time but ultimately God is the owner.  So, for today, I am eating the plants and seeds that God has provided for me in the guise of a veggie burrito.

Short Term Memory

I love salami.  I can make a meal of salami: hard, dry, Italian salami, brie, and french bread.  Some apple slices and I am happy, happy, happy.  I love sushi! My mom friends, my friends that are the moms of my children's friends whom I happen to like and enjoy food and conversation with on a regular basis, we love to eat.  For awhile, Monster Sushi on Honolulu in Montrose was the preferred gathering place.  Our usual order would be Mexican roll, Salmon crunch roll, Hot Night roll, Vicki's favorite (tempura fried California roll with sliced braised beef and thin fried onions, OMG), and Rainbow roll.  They are all soooo yummy and have some delicious sauce.  Sometimes we would wander over to Min's Kitchen for Thai on Foothill in La Canada.  Curry chicken, sizzling beef, and other stuff that was really good.

Ordering a veggie sandwich from TOGO's reminded me that I really love salami and when I was thinking about lunch and how hungry I was I thought maybe I'd walk over to Ralph's and pick up some sushi.  Believe it or not Ralph's has a fresh sushi bar and they make great sushi.  I forgot that I wasn't eating salami or fish or chicken or pork.  And then I remembered, so I had another veggie sandwich, my third since last week.

There is nothing wrong with a good veggie sandwich. I love them.  I was a little freaked out that I forgot I wasn't eating meat.  When I realized I was thinking about fish and meat and that I wasn't eating fish or meat anymore, I shook my head at myself and had to smile.  This whole experiment might just turn into 30 days of "don't eat the chocolate cake." You know, when you tell yourself that you aren't going to eat the chocolate cake and the more adamantly you tell yourself your not going to eat the chocolate cake all you can do is think about eating chocolate cake?  So what did I do? I went home and had apple pie and vanilla ice cream for dinner.

Fear of Commitment

I have a problem with commitment. I've been married 3 times, not held a job for more then 5 years, and it took me 8 years or so to complete college, but I am learning.  Husband #3 and I will celebrate our 7th anniversary on May 8th.  That is a record for me.   In fact, the more committed I am to my marriage and my husband the more secure and happy I am.  It took me a long time to learn this lesson; that there is freedom in making a commitment.

In August, I started graduate school, committing three years of my life to the pursuit of a Masters of Divinity.  Six months later I started the ordination process in my church, St. Luke's of the Mountains Episcopal Church.  A process that could take anywhere from 3 years to 5 if I get approved to move on through each level.  Then of course I did have 2 children which is a long term commitment if there ever was one.

So, you would think eating vegetarian for 30 days would be a piece of cake. The weekend has been easy simply because I haven't had to cook.  Tonight Bob and I went to an Indian restaurant and I ordered vegetarian.  It was really good but really spicy.  I am getting some advice from friends now wanting to make sure I am going to get enough protein or have enough recipes.  My friend, Jenni suggested I eat protein in the morning to stay full during the day, quinoa is a complete protein and you can get it at Trader Joe's, and eating Portabello mushrooms releases the same chemical in the brain as if you were eating meat (or something like that). 

A few other things I need to commit to: writing earlier in the day because I am really tired right now, reading this book I just bought called Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, and finishing a paper tomorrow that was due last Wednesday.