The Leftovers

I hate leftovers.  It probably stems from the fact that when I was a child, my mother used to store away all uneaten food in emptied butter and Cool Whip containers. That way, an unsuspecting kid that is eagerly anticipating stealthily snatching a spoonful or two of Cool Whip, is instead confronted with some sort of month old casserole that reeks. I can't tell you how many times something like that happened to me.  The butter containers were rarely ever butter.  I learned that if a bit of butter wasn't smudged on the side, then I should never take my chances with opening it. Did I also mention that this was most definitely the timeframe that my overpowered gag reflex kicked into high gear?  I blame it on leftovers. The only leftover food item that I consider truly acceptable, besides something chocolate related, is pizza. Easily discernible, and it never lasts long enough to develop mold.

Tonight, my husband and I were getting a bit snippy with one another. He had a demanding day at work, and I had a demanding day with the kids.  Neither one of us had a "bad" day, but both of us being introverted by nature, needed and craved downtime. I try not to bombard him with my needs as soon as he walks in the door, but 45 minutes later, I am chomping at the bit to be heard, snuggled, pampered, helped, served...whatever the case may be. But, factor in kids that haven't seen their daddy all day, and I try to step back to give them their time. Then, factor in that he needs to just veg for awhile, before diving into family life, and I am forced to take another step back. Therefore, as I am hauling trash to the street, unloading and reloading the dishwasher, and folding laundry, I silently start to seethe. I get snippy, he gets snippy, and then it is a spiral. For my part, I feel like it is obvious what I need from him, and apparently, he feels the same. And I came to the conclusion tonight that we often just end up giving each other our "leftovers". The crap that no one else wants.  We give our best to everyone else, except for each other. Thankfully, we stumbled onto this realization, before we disintegrated into an argument and a really miserable evening. Not to be too philosophical, but I really believe that this is why marriages fail, because we give our spouses the leftovers. After all, this person is supposed to be with you for better or for worse, so why not take out our frustrations on him or her? We hold back with everyone else, because it wouldn't be polite to tell the rude person in line at the grocery store what we really think of him making a beeline ahead of us when it was OBVIOUS we were heading that direction. No, it is much better to let the little frustrations build throughout the day, and take it out on the person that loves you, right? 

Furthermore, what about our relationship with God?  How often does he get stuck with our leftovers?  I know that there are nights, when I drop into bed and I don't want to think another blessed thought.  I just crave sleep.  But, then I realize I haven't even prayed. What then?  Guilt.  Okay, so bless my family God, forgive me for my sins. Amen. Now, I can sleep. What kind of relationship is that?  I guarantee that it isn't one that is thriving when that becomes the norm, instead of the exception.

I guess what I am saying is, that no one is truly a fan of leftovers, in either food or relationships. It is rare when the leftovers are as good as the first serving.