I have many strong beliefs.

Since my angel went to Heaven, I have learned more about myself spiritually, physically, and emotionally, than I ever had in the past.

I was a Division I college athlete. That taught me more about teamwork, and motivation, and pure grit, than anything I have experienced.

I am a transplant survivor. That taught me about selflessness, and the will to survive, and the bonds of humankind, more than anything I’d ever experienced.

I lost a child. That experience taught me more about parenthood, and infinite love, and strength of character, than anything ever could or ever will.

But this week, I decided to support a very good friend who has been a champion for me through all of those experiences. She also has very strong values, an immense strength of character, and an empathy that compares to no one.

She is vegan. A belief I never thought I’d understand. She wants to support our Earth. She wants to champion our resources and will help us all be the change.

In an effort to support my long time champion, I decided to eat, to live vegan, for one week.

For me, it was easy. I rarely eat meat. I don’t like it. But I do eat eggs. And I do love cheese. But as a sign of solidarity, I decided to be vegan for 7 days.

Today is day 7. And today I found out how hard ‘being vegan’ actually is.

We went out to dinner with my parents. They are supportive, as my husband is, of most everything I do. But we went to a wing joint. Everything on the menu was cow, or chicken, or covered in cheese.

I was the only one who ordered anything that didn’t include animal products.

They offered the ‘impossible burger.’ Great! I thought. I asked the server if the bun was vegan. Nope.

I ate the impossible burger, bunless. Frankly I should have drunk my dinner. Another beer would have been better. It wasn’t bad. And as a substitute for meat, it passed. But I don’t love meat. So veggies that taste like meat, for me, aren’t great.

Socially, unless you surround yourself with other vegans, it’s a tough road. I don’t generally take the road less traveled. I barrel through the vines and brikel bushes to get where I want to be.

So making a choice to be on a plant-based diet is not hard. And I feel better. And I feel like, after all my hardships, maybe I can give something back. Maybe I can make this Earth just a little healthier by using renewable resources.

And I am going past my one week commitment. I don’t make decisions lightly and I usually read and research everything. And with this little experiment, I watched some videos. Videos of dairy cows, and how they are treated.

What did I learn? To make milk, any being has to be pregnant. Those cows that produce milk for our consumption lose their babies.

They lose their babies. I don’t know that I can ever support any industry that causes a mama to lose her baby. I know how that feels. And I wouldn’t wish it on any human, any animal, any being… ever.

So for now, I am vegan. I support those women, cows or otherwise, so they never have to be mamas who lose their babies.