Dinner with Lily

Yesterday we had pulled pork bbq for dinner. Diantha, her parents and the kids had gone to the beach for the day and while I worked and reheating the bbq I had made the night before was a pretty easy solution for dinner with everyone getting back late. 

As we all sat down to eat Lily dictated who was going to sit in each seat, including Connor. I was privileged to get to sit next to her. She first devoured her corn, grabbing buttery kernels by the fistful. She then looked at the meat and this is the conversation that followed.

Lily: "Papa what kind of meat is this"
Me: "Thats pig meat, pork"

Lily takes a bite and you can see her thinking while she chews.

Lily: "Who is it?" looking out the kitchen window at the pigs
Me: "Oh, it's not one of our pigs pumpkin, we haven't turned the into meat yet, it was from the store."
Lily: "What was its name?"
Me: "I'm not sure"
Lily: "Was it a girl or a boy pig?"
Me: "I dont know that either"
Lily: "why?"
Me: "Because we bought it at the store"

We started this farm to know where our food comes from. We want to know the name of animals we eat because when something has a name it is treated better. We name all our animals here which does mean we become more attached but being attached to your food is a good thing. Even the vegetables, while we don't name them, we plant each seed, tend to and harvest their fruits. I am proud that Lily at two and a half is making connections to her food and where it comes from. I feel so fortunate to live in a place where she can truly know her food. I look forward to a time, hopefully in the near future, when I will be able to answer all of her questions for every bite she takes in our home.