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Literature I had read before making the switch warned me to feel strongly in my convictions and to be able to answer the 'why' behind my decision to become vegetarian. I have yet to come across anyone particularly rude about it so this hasn't really been an issue. I kind of think that this is probably because first I went beef-free (and I vaguely recall asserting some dumb comment like "It's not like I'm vegetarian". Luckily no one called me on that!).

My husband has been extremely supportive considering he's a meat lover. He doesn't count something as a meal unless it includes meat products. And since he does 90% of our cooking (or 99% if I'm being honest) he has been pretty significantly impacted. With that said, he's done a great job.

There are perks in cooking for him now though. For example, I'm more likely to tell him he's on his own for supper and I will make myself xyz. This means he doesn't have to cook as much *and* he can make some of the things I was never interested in anyway.

I kind of figured my mom would react strongly because she wouldn't know what to feed me when I visit. And that's exactly what happened. She seemed less concerned though after a trip to the grocery store and saw that there are many options out there.

I also figured that my sister would react strongly. Not because she's a huge meat-lover but because she's super health-conscious and would worry about that. The first mention of vegetarianism did cause a....reaction but then I avoided it and things got better. She has since noted concerns that I will need to include different foods into my diet (such as quinoa, etc). And she's right, so that is something I am working on.

I anticipated that my counsellor co-workers would be open-minded or at least keep their opinions to themselves. They mostly wanted to know my reasons 'why'. They were all pretty respectful to the factory farming reason, especially since two of them have hobby farms. And one coworker in particular was super awesome. For our Christmas potluck, she made sure that her contribution was vegan *and* gluten-free (for another coworker). I really really appreciated this. It was unexpected, unnecessary, super thoughtful, and pretty typical of the people I work with.

And everyone else....they are just background noise. I'm sure others have strong opinions but I won't have to face some of my family until the next visit home so I'm not stressing about it now. Give it some time though!