Notes: Mari and Sammy – Thank you for all the advice, whether it's for a story or for life. You two are simply the best.
Readers and REAL McRollers – Thank you for the AMAZING response to our anniversary story on Sunday. It was such fun to relive the memories of the wedding day while writing that story and we were so thrilled you enjoyed reading it. We've said it before and I know we'll say it again, our readers are the absolute best!
Happy (almost) REAL World Anniversary!
Hope you enjoy!
Family Meeting (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
"Okay, honey," Jenna said, looking at her youngest daughter. "You called this family meeting. What would you like to talk about?"
Kaitlyn, standing in the middle of the Allens' living room, took a deep breath. She picked up the book she'd placed face down on the coffee table and looked at all of her family members in turn. Jacob was sitting on his knees on the sofa between Cody and Casey. Dylan was sprawled on the floor between the sofa and the armchair where Jenna sat.
"I got this book today during library because I thought it had a cute rabbit on the cover," Kaitlyn said, holding up the book and showing it to everyone. "When I read it, I learned it's actually a snowshoe hare, and hares aren't the same as rabbits."
"They're not?" Dylan asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"No." Kaitlyn opened her book to a page she'd marked with a small paper. She looked at the sidebar 'Hares Are Not Rabbits!' and said, "Rabbits are born underground, but hares are born above ground so they are in danger of being eaten by other animals as soon as they are born."
"By predators!" Jacob exclaimed, sitting up straighter. He looked at Jenna. "I learned that from Zootopia."
Jenna smiled and nodded at him, before looking back at her daughter. "Go on, Kaitlyn, are there any other differences?"
"Yes," Kaitlyn continued. "Not as many hares are born at a time as rabbits, and they don't live in as many places." She closed her book and looked at her family again. "And my teacher said hares are usually bigger and have longer ears than rabbits. Plus the color of their fur changes. They're brown or gray in the summer and white in the winter to help protect them from predators. And that's what this book is about. It's called 'Hopping Ahead of Climate Change' because climate change is making it more dangerous for snowshoe hares. Since winters are getting shorter there isn't as much snow in the places where the snowshoe hares live, so their white coats don't camouflage them." She opened the book again to the first full page photograph of a white snowshoe hare clearly visible in a brown and green forest and showed it around. "See? A predator like an owl or a lynx can see the hare and get it."
"Where do they live?" Casey asked. "On the mainland, I'm guessing."
Kaitlyn nodded. "The ones in this book are in Montana."
"Where's Montana?" Jacob asked.
"It's in the northwest," Jenna told him. "It borders Canada."
"Ohhh," Jacob said. "They got lots of snow in Canada."
Cody smiled at him before looking back at his sister. "What else did you learn in your book, Kaitlyn?"
"I learned about the scientists who are studying the snowshoe hares and their mismatched coats. That's what they call it when the hare is brown when he's supposed to be white."
"Coats?" Jacob balked.
"Coats of fur," Cody told him.
"Oh."
"Why doesn't the hare just change back to brown when the snow melts?" Dylan asked.
"Because it doesn't matter how much snow there is," Kaitlyn replied emphatically. "The book said it's because of the length of the days. And it said that the hares don't realize they're not camouflaged anymore so they get eaten more!"
"That's very sad," Jenna said. "What are the scientists doing about it?"
"They're still studying," Kaitlyn said. "It talked about DNA and evolution, but I didn't totally understand that part. But it said maybe over time the hares will start to match the snow again but they don't know for sure and they don't know if it will be in time," she fretted. "And they're not the only animal that changes color! Other animals do, too, and they might be in trouble because of what humans are doing to the Earth!" She worried her lower lip with her teeth, holding back tears.
"Oh, honey," Jenna said, reaching a hand out for her. Kaitlyn stepped closer and Jenna rubbed her arm consolingly. "I know it's very upsetting to hear about animals in trouble."
Her siblings looked on anxiously, wanting to help her feel better.
Jacob climbed off the sofa and walked over to give her a hug.
"I'm sorry, Kaitlyn," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "Can we help the bunnies?"
Kaitlyn sniffed, wiping under her nose. "They're not bunnies," she reminded him, though she was smiling at his consideration. "They're hares."
"Oh yeah," he said. He straightened suddenly. "Hey, isn't that who the tortoise beat in the story?"
Kaitlyn laughed. "Yeah."
Her other siblings relaxed at the smile on her face. They knew she was still affected by the book she'd read, but she was no longer near tears.
"So why did you call the family meeting?" Casey asked. "I'm glad you told us about the hares, but what can we do about it?"
Kaitlyn straightened, opening her book again, this time to the back. "There are some ideas at the end to make things a little better," she said. "Like riding a bike instead of a car, making sure all the lights and appliances use less energy, and …" she paused and looked up, biting her lip, "eating less meat."
"Eating less meat?" Dylan repeated, confused. "How does that help? We don't eat rabbits … I mean, hares."
Kaitlyn looked at her book. "It says meat production uses more energy and resources that other food production. 'Every time you eat a salad instead of a cheeseburger, you are reducing co-two emissions,' " she read.
"CO2," Jenna corrected. "It means carbon dioxide. That's one of the gases that trap heat in our atmosphere and cause climate change."
Kaitlyn nodded. She looked around nervously, clearly coming to the true reason for the meeting. "And also … eating meat is eating animals. Like cows and chickens and pigs and … and … I don't want to do that anymore," she said quietly but firmly.
Her siblings looked surprised but Jenna smiled softly. She'd been expecting the statement for a while. A glance at Cody showed that his surprise hadn't lasted long. He'd been expecting it as well.
"You don't like cheeseburgers anymore?" Jacob asked, wide-eyed.
"I like them …" Kaitlyn admitted slowly. "It's just that … I like the animals to be alive more."
"Ohh," Jacob said, his small brow furrowing as he worked through the idea.
Kaitlyn looked at Jenna. "Is that … okay?" she asked carefully. "If I don't eat meat anymore?"
Jenna took her daughter's hand and squeezed. "It's okay. We just have to make sure that you're still getting the right nutrients and enough protein to be healthy and keep growing up strong, and I'm sure we can do that. You know Gretchen at my work?"
Kaitlyn nodded.
"She's a vegetarian and I've actually already asked her for some ideas."
"You did?" Kaitlyn asked, surprised.
Jenna smiled. "I had a feeling you might decide you didn't want to eat meat anymore."
"Was it because she didn't want us to cook the fish when we went camping?" Dylan asked with sudden realization.
"That was one of the signs," Jenna replied. She turned back at Kaitlyn with a gentle but serious look. "Now, honey, it's okay for you, but the rest of us will probably keep eating meat. Are you going to be okay with that?"
Kaitlyn paused, but nodded finally.
Her three older siblings exchanged glances in silent communication, and Cody nodded for Casey to speak.
"How about if we eat less meat, too?" Casey said. "Not no meat but maybe, like, two nights a week we won't have meat for dinner?"
Kaitlyn gasped softly, clearly touched, while Jenna smiled proud at the sincerity in their offer.
"Really?" Kaitlyn asked, looking at each of them in amazement.
Cody nodded. "Really."
"Yep," Casey said.
Jacob shrugged. "As long as I can still have cheeseburgers sometimes."
Jenna laughed and pulled him to her. "Yes, you can still have cheeseburgers sometimes."
"Plus you know what this means?" Dylan asked, a smile growing on his face. "Lots more breakfast-for-dinners."
"Cheese Dude!" Jacob cried, throwing both hands into the air. He looked at his mother. "Can we have breakfast-for-dinner tonight? Please please PLEASE?"
Jenna chuckled and glanced at the others. "What do you guys think?"
"Yes!" Kaitlyn cried happily.
"Works for me," Casey said.
When Cody nodded, Jenna said, "That's settled, then. Let's go get started." She grinned at Kaitlyn. "Egg Woman, you're up!"
Kaitlyn giggled and ran into the kitchen, followed by Jacob, Dylan, and Casey.
Cody and Jenna stood more slowly, exchanging smiles.
"Well, that's that," Jenna said.
He nodded. "It's been coming."
"Yep."
"I'm glad she felt confident enough to speak up," he commented, glancing at the kitchen where Kaitlyn was directing the others, a mile-wide smile on her face.
Jenna followed his gaze and sighed happily. "She's growing up." She turned back to him. "It's gonna mean some changes."
"Yeah, but nothing we can't handle," he said with a confidence of his own.
She smiled, giving him a brief side-armed hug. "That's right. Team Allen can handle anything." Releasing him, she moved toward the kitchen, glancing back when he didn't immediately followed.
He had taken out his phone and at her questioning look, smiled and said, "I better text Steve to have some veggie burgers at the next barbecue."
Hope you enjoyed!
Notes: This story was inspired by this awesome, and of course REAL, book that details the incredible work by Dr. Scott Mills and his team:
Hopping Ahead of Climate Change: Snowshoe Hares, Science, and Survival, by Sneed B. Collard III (Bucking Horse Books, 2016)
as well as our very own vegetarian from an early age, Mari :-)
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