The end of the year brings many types of “leftovers”

For one, we have our Thanksgiving feasts. No matter what, there is always way too much food leftover. Endless recipes following Thanksgiving are filled with turkey, potatoes and fake cranberry sauce. All can be turned into new dinners, such as casseroles and stews. However, no matter how hard we all try, some of it still goes bad. Meat only lasts so long, the bland saltiness of potatoes only satisfies us for a few days and sweet potatoes start hardening like the sweet, burnt marshmallows that were placed on top.  Loving leftovers is way different than feeling forced to take on leftovers as to not waste food and money.

Leftovers are simply tricky. Just like food, we too have leftovers and the leftovers seem to loom over us at the end of the year. We all know the feeling, we all know the questions that creep up upon us before the new year.

1. Did I work as hard as I could have?
2. Did I find joys and happiness in everything I did?
3. Did I love my family, my friends or myself enough?
4. What did I leave leftover that needed more attention this year?

The end of the year brings so many different leftover tasks, leftover emotions. It is a time of reflection, a time of self examination. The end of the year so vividly mirrors Thanksgiving. That feeling of complete excitement for a break from work, yet cleaning up the daunting feast and trying to figure out what we are going to do with all of the….leftovers.

No matter how hard we work, how hard we love or how much we study, the end of the year is inevitable. I believe it is okay to be open with these leftovers. It is okay that some leftovers spoil. It is okay that we didn’t meet a task because maybe at the time it was truly more important to take care of a sick relative than to study an extra ten hours. Maybe it was okay to play with your children at the park instead of staying late at the office. You see, we pick and choose what is the most important to us, all throughout the year and that will certainly leave us with leftovers. However, I don’t necessarily think that is bad, don’t we all want to pick love and family over tireless work and obligations? Maybe this next year will be all about a healthy balance.

Be honest, what is leftover for you this year? What did you not accomplish? It’s okay to be honest… Honesty only helps us move forward.

When we know how much we have leftover at the end of the year, it can only help us to better prepare for the next year. To prepare a meal that will fill us just enough. To not put too much on our plates, whether that is pumpkin pie or work obligations. How are you going to walk into the new year better prepared to be weighed down with less leftovers? This year, let us all work to prepare a meal that won’t overwhelm us and to enjoy a meal that won’t leave too much leftover. As we weed out of 2017,  check your leftovers, toss out what you don’t need and start again fresh. You have full permission to get rid of anything weighing you down.