Last of the burgers.

Last week was rather eventful for us. I had to call the plumber to come out twice to fix the problem with sewage backing up into our yard despite having paid him time-and-a-half to fix it the Friday evening before. I knocked a metal curtain rod down on my face, which left a large purple goose egg on my forehead, blue streaks under my eyes, and the top of my nose three times its size. And, I read a horrible description of the living and dying conditions of the animals we eat and decided to become a vegetarian.

There are many really bad things going on in the world that I try to just not think about, and chicken farms and slaughter houses are in my top five. But when faced with it head-on, I decided I had an obligation to quit eating meat. I have family and friends who are vegetarians, and when I've thought about the idea of becoming one, I've always thought, "I couldn't possibly give up meat altogether. I actually crave steaks, hamburgers, and Chick-fil-a." I was wrong. With some things, I think we all just rise to the challenge. (If someone had explained to me in detail the challenges of infants, I wouldn't have thought I could do that either!)

So this week had an exciting beginning: Gumbo is allowed in his sewage-free backyard, my nose and forehead are shrinking and are now only a pail yellow, and I, in my little way, am making the world a better place. Plus—the painters will be here this afternoon to paint the doors Humble Gold. Woo hoo!