Mind Over Matter

At the Chick-Fil-A back home, they offer a grilled cheese sandwich. That's what Michael gets when we go there, and he gets them to add tomato. Its vegetarian friendly for him, and I get my yummy chicken.
I was disappointed to discover that the local Chick-Fil-A here does not offer the grilled cheese sandwich. The only chicken - free items on the menu were the side salad, fruit bowl, desserts, fries, and drinks. I asked Aaric if he just wanted to get chicken and he replied, "Nah, I can't eat chicken. I'll have a salad." He was fine with this plan. I assured him that if he wanted chicken, he really could eat some, he didn't HAVE to avoid meat. I got him the side salad and an order of fries. I got Mikayla a 6 pk nugget kids meal and myself a chicken sandwich. We got a fruit bowl for the kids to split.
Aaric ate most of his salad - everything except a little lettuce, which isn't his favorite, its just a filler really. He'd eaten most of his fries. I asked if he was still hungry and he said no. Then a minute later he sighed and said, "Do you think it would be okay if I eat just ONE piece of chicken?" I told him that would be just fine, it was just up to him. Mikayla had one nugget left that she wasn't interested in. He reached over and grabbed it quickly, studied it for a second, took a nibble, then said, "I think I'll just pretend that its a veggie chicken nugget" and gobbled that sucker down as if he hadn't eaten in days. I supressed a giggle and kept eating my fries. He looked thoughtful. I suspected he was still hungry and offered him more fries. I still had half a chicken sandwich left, but I didn't know if he'd want to fully give in to the dark side. When he turned down the fries, I told him about my half sandwich and offered it to him. Again, the thought for a second, then said he wanted it. I gave it to him, he looked at it - this time, not with apprehension but more with joy. He took a bite and said, "Are you sure I can have ALL of it? You're done?" What a polite little chicken-craving vegetarian he is! I smiled and encouraged him to eat up. Mikayla protested. She wanted some too. So she got a bite, and Aaric ate the rest, pretending it was a veggie chic-patty.
And really, who can blame him? I think it takes a very dedicated vegetarian to not give in to the temptation of Chick-Fil-A!
So, he fell off the wagon.
I'd offered him the chicken because we're trying to get through to him that he doesn't have to live like this if he doesn't truly want to. I questioned him a bit the other day, and figured out that his motivation is based mainly on making his daddy proud. But the kid does like his chicken. And beef. And bacon, he loves bacon. But he's willing to sacrifice all that because he thinks he needs to, to make Daddy proud. We can't seem to convince him that Michael won't be disappointed if he eats meat again.
And Mikayla says she's a vegetarian. Thats why she couldn't eat her carrots. Because she's a vegetarian. And why she wanted more chicken. Pretty much any food she wants or doesn't want, its followed up with "because I'm a vegetarian." Do you think maybe she's confused?