One of the challenges for many women this time of year, is dealing with leftovers. Whether from branding meals, the remnants of a graduation or wedding reception, or just a family get together, there is always the problem of what dishes the leftovers will fit in, making room in the fridge, or tossing out the last bit of a contribution that might have been too long out of refrigeration.
I never had to go hungry but there were some years when leftovers weren’t an issue, so I tend to use food up down to the last spoonful. My children’s father used to say he didn’t mind leftovers but sometimes he couldn’t quite recall when we had the real meal. The dogs in this house can beg all they want, but scraps are few and far between. I was thinking about leftovers the other day while helping clear up the remains of a party. I was glad that the hostess was the one having to find a place for the food, because our fridge isn’t all that large.
I can’t recall how many pounds of food is said to be tossed out, every day in America, but it’s a lot. Many of us have too many choices, and don’t even appreciate it. It’s pretty likely that people dealing with war in Ukraine, and the surrounding countries that take in refugees, don’t have a leftover problem. We complain about empty store shelves in America, but at least there is food to be had, and our stores aren’t being bombed. We have the privilege of leaving our homes to shop, we have electricity to cook our food when we get home, and heat to warm ourselves.
The young, and not so young, women of America stay in style by spending huge amounts of money on jeans that have holes built in, while many people are happy to have more than one change of clothes and, hopefully, even some that don’t need patches.
One of my poems is built around a true story about a family of Mormon immigrants. The young sisters loved to dance when someone played music around the campfire, but there was only one pair of shoes, and the girls had to take turns wearing them to dance. When I tell this poem to an audience of students, I always ask how many have more than one pair of shoes. Every hand goes up. And I’m ashamed to tell you how many pairs of shoes are in my closet, so I won’t. Certainly, it’s more than enough to qualify as leftovers.
Spring is clean up time. The yard needs attention. We cook extra food to take to potlucks, and bring home leftovers. We go through closets to find the summer shirts and shorts. If you find things in there you forgot you had, and can’t possibly fit into, or haven’t worn in a year, be assured that it’s selfish to hang onto those items when there are those who would be thrilled to have your leftovers.
Meet me here next week and meanwhile, do your best. Somebody might like it.