TV Vegan in Heels: Springtime Vegan

It's that time of year...

When the temperatures turn warmer...

The skies become bluer...

Fresh-cut grass smells like heaven...

Lemonade becomes crisp, tart, sugary perfection...

And it's time to head to Indiana to meet your boyfriend'a family!!

Uh-Oh!

Ok so it's obvious that those 2 peanut heads above are crazy about each other... If you haven't figured that out yet... you obviously are NOT following me on Facebook! 😜

But what about Trent's family???

I mean I'm a Miami girl born & raised through & through!

However, Trent is from Indiana... Indy... Cornfields... Racecar country & lots of woods!

"Wood" I fit in? Get it?! Ha ha

And do you know what they do in those woods during the Spring season?? Nooooo don't go all 'Deliverance' on me!!

And it's not picking spring flowers or climbing trees or looking for leaves like we look for shells on the beach... Oh no... None of those things!

They hunt for mushrooms!! Really, seriously, I'm not joking & I'm not being funny because I'm Vegan. This is actually a thing they look forward to doing annually... So you-know-who got picked to join the bunch & prove my vegetable hunting skills!

Ok so here's the deal: these elusive fungi suckers are hard to find! And I'm good at finding sales, searching for dogs & tracking down interviews... but morel mushrooms look like this in the wild:

Yeah, yeah, yeah... if you didn't know it was there, you wouldn't have seen it either! I spent quite a few hours in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest living the real-life "looking for a needle in a haystack" expression. Full disclosure? I am NOT good at hunting - even if it is for vegetables instead of animals!

So I never did find a mushroom, but the good thing is that my boyfriend is pretty awesome at hunting for hidden mushrooms, so I feel very good about the fact that I will never starve to death if I'm lost in a forest with this Boy Scout!

Another thing I discovered about myself while I was out exploring the wild & wonderful mid-west... I actually don't hate children! Don't gasp or sound surprised right now. If you know me, you know I prefer animals to humans any day of the week!

But Trent has a pretty cute niece & nephew! My maternal side really came out with Aurora since I can't tell you the last time I fed a baby! But I did a pretty good job & she ate that whole bowl of oatmeal or hot baby cereal or slop... whatever it is that babies eat & she really seemed to enjoy the Jacey feeding session! 😁

See? I can't make these things up - I have picture-proof! And just to give you a little background on me... I never thought I would have kids. In fact, it was a point of contention with me & my ex-husband. It's not that I actually hate children... Obviously I just say that to be funny & get a black comedy laugh. But I always thought I was a much better 'Animal Mom' than an actual Mom to a little person!

I have always thought having children is a very serious, lifetime commitment, not to be taken lightly. And as long as I can remember, I felt different from everyone else because I didn't grow up my whole life dreaming about being a Mother. I'm a product of divorce, I always had 2 dads - my biological dad & my step-dad & a balanced, healthy, calm family-life was not really in the cards for me. So I never really had any maternal instincts & I certainly don't have this biological clock ticking that everybody talks about.

I think Orion was scared of my kisses - he could sense my lack of the Mommy gene! But between my nephew Kenji...

And Trent's niece & nephew, Orion & Aurora, I'm learning how to be the absolute best Auntie around! And Trent has already earned the best Uncle title fair & square! So now that we have the second-tier parenting awards all wrapped up...

For the first time in my life I'm possibly, maybe, sorta, kinda, almost thinking about the potential of being a Mom... one day, no hurry, no rush. As you know, I'm very supportive of adoption, especially if we wait awhile to take the parent plunge. And if you're asking the obvious question of why? There's only one reason...

This Guy!

He's already the most caring & thoughtful furbaby father to my 2 little munchkins & he is the most amazing man I have ever met. I don't want to be all sappy & sentimental because we may decide one day (together) that having children isn't the best choice for us... But Trent is the ONLY reason I am thinking I may want to be a Mom one day.

I don't have all the answers about our future. I don't know if we will have a little girl & dress her up in pink dresses & take her to ballet classes... I don't know that.

What I do know is that I have met the man that I will make every decision with for the rest of my life. What I know is that I am now a part of a team & there is only one person on that team... US.

It's not just about Jacey...

It's not totally about Trent...

It's about us together.

And with my best friend, my partner, my teammate, the other pea in my pod, I'm no longer scared of the maybes, the mistakes, the fears, the life changes a child brings...