Boca or Burger?

by Carlos

As my kids grow older, I begin to see the signs of their individual personalities come out. It makes it much easier for me to see since I can compare one child to her sisters. It's really cool to see what they like and their different reactions to the same situation.
For instance, if I serve pizza, my girls all start eating different parts of it. One of my girls will take off all the meat and eat it first. My other will begin eating the crust first. And my third girl, Lani, likes to eat the veges first.
In fact Lani's personality is really shinning through and I don't really know how to take it. My wife and I both are from cultures that eat a lot meat, pork, to be specific. And even though I've been a vegetarian at one time in my life, I don't really want to stop eating meat again. It's all good to cut back, but Lani is starting to show signs that she really likes plants.
I shouldn't freak out, but some reason, I have no idea how to proceed.
Lani loves to collect seeds when she's out playing. She holds them in her tiny hands and when she's collected more than she can hold, my pockets get filled. It's kinda fun to see what's in my pocket at the end of the day. Anyway, Lani loves flowers, and even at 3 yrs old, she can identify just about all the ones that I can name.
Are these signs that my child will be a vegetarian? Or does it just mean that she loves nature?
Case in point; we were walking through a certain mall last winter. She was only 2 at that time. This mall was awesome because while there was snow outside, this mall had brilliant skylights that allowed giant palm trees to grow all the way to the second story. Imagine my wife and I herding our little brood of 3 girls through a busy mall. "Come this way! No! Follow us. Stay together!" All of sudden, Lani is gone. We look back and freeze. Our mouths drop. Lani is hugging the palm tree. My wife says, "She's definetley your child." (What does that mean anyway? We all know she was in your tummy!)
So what! She collects seeds, she loves her veges, she hugs trees. So what!! What does it mean? Does this mean that it's by nature, not nurture, that my girl can be a vegetarian? This is not some kind of science experiment. Who cares?
My wife asks me to not to call the food 'chicken' or 'fish' because she thinks that Lani will stop eating it. I say teach the kids where their food comes from! My thinking was that if she decides to stop eating meat, well then, time to invest in some good cook books. I didn't want to dummy down any truths.
BUT... something just happened three nights ago that threw me through a loop. I should have seen it coming! If I had just thought a second, maybe I could have avoided it!
Steak is not one of my favorite foods, but I was really looking forward to this one. I made it rare AND I drank a beer while it was on the BBQ. It was SO juicy. Nastalgia at it's sweetest!
Two minutes into the meal, Lani, my sweet little 3 yr old, with her sweet little inquisitive mind, who always sees everything, points to my steak and says, "Why is it bleeding, Papi? Papi, why is it bleeding? Papi, why is it bleeding? Why is it bleeding, Papi?" She's repeating her question because I'm wide eyed, jaw dropped and hesitating. Kids know the hesitation and are not intimidated by it.
What's the right answer? Do I say, "Umm, because it's dead." No, no. "Because it used to be a cow. You know those sweet animals that you have dolls of which you like to hug." No.
My wife shoots me 'that' look. It's not my fault!
So I gave her the stupid answer I always give when I have no idea what to say because the truth is going to somehow suck; "Honey, it's bleeding because that's what it does. Here, eat some of your fries."