Dreaming Of You

A little background: When I was in high school in my Senior year, my boyfriend (who had graduated the year before) moved to Texas and so I was, in effect, a free woman. There were quite a few people who were Mormon, and I went to activities at the local Stake many times growing up, so it wasn't much of a surprise that I got involved with a Mormon boy.  The surprise was that I considered joining the Church. It's commonly known that the consumption of all things caffeinated is a no-no. Keep in mind that my mom was born in Brazil (She was a WWII war bride) and from the time I was a very young child, I was given coffee, so giving up coffee was something I was committed to do to "prove" my love. I did it. It wasn't easy, but I went months without coffee, but after a while, it wasn't the coffee, it was the other things about the Church and my obligations as a  possible future wife that scared me. I ended it amicably after over 6 months and I went back to my beloved coffee.

The present situation: I love to eat, and unlike the skinny girl of barely 100 lbs that I was in high school, I'm quite hefty. I enjoy bacon, eggs, milk products and other things.  Not all the time, of course, but once in a while having an egg or some bacon is nice. I eat/drink milk products daily. I also eat my vegetables.There are things I won't eat or can't eat due to personal taste and food allergies, but my food choices are mostly unrestricted. I like it that way. Remember that Mormon boy?  Well, think about him a moment. His belief was that caffeine was a "bad" thing. Well, I no longer spend time with people in the Mormon Church,  but it has nothing to do with my (coffee) drinking habits. It mostly has to do with me having joined the USAF and leaving home.  Some of you might think that the coffee restriction would be too much to bear. Forget about that. I have quite a few people in my life who are Vegans. Vegans are the strictest of vegetarians. They do not eat or use any animal products, and they will point out that even foods that you or I would consider to be vegetarian will often have animal products, so label reading is a must. This will give you an opening to the dream I had. Yes, it was a Vegan Dream.

The Dream: I woke up in a bed beside you, but it felt natural. I smiled and you hugged me and said "Today is your first day, it won't be easy, but you will do it, and you will enjoy it" I went into the bathroom and instead of my normal body wash, there was only Doctor Bronner's soap. Since I use it occasionally, there was no problem, I showered with it, but I missed my own body wash. Then I went into the kitchen and was given a plate full of fresh steamed vegetables. I thought to myself "This isn't so bad" but my coffee tasted a little different because it had soy milk in it. Lunch was different because I had juice and steamed vegetables. I looked at you and commented about all the gas I was going to have, and you laughed at me and told me I'd get used to it, but my system needed "cleansing" from all my years of eating animals. I lost track of how long I stayed with you, but it was over a week, and I never left the sunny apartment. One day, I begged you for pancakes and you made me some, but I wanted Bisquick pancakes and I argued with you that it was okayed as vegan on the PETA website, and you yelled at me. In real life, you've occasionally used a lecturing tone, but you've never raised your voice and I cried. You held me and quietly explained that PETA isn't always right and that I'd better eat because my food was getting cold. I ate silently and slept on the couch that night. Many more weeks passed, with you laughing at my unexpected farts. It was horribly embarrassing,  but I eventually stopped as my body adjusted to the food changes. Then one day, you took outside and you said "Now it's time to try this on your own". Tsunami woke me up at that point, so I have no idea what was to happen, but while I feel strange about this dream, it was amazing to be "immersed" into Veganism. I think I should go back to bed now.