Leave a Little

My husband is finally home.

I apologize for all the PDA, especially to the kitchen ladies at church who suddenly became very interested in washing dishes. I promise not to make out in the church kitchen again (when someone else is there).

It's a little weird. He has no hair so he randomly frightens me coming around a corner in the house. He also put a rubber band on the bottom of the tube of toothpaste so I'm forced to use it methodically, but don't worry I just pulled out another tube.

This made me realize a quirky habit of mine. I'm not quite ready to put it into the "bad habit" category, but it could be annoying to some.

I have a tendency (along with three other people in the house) to put an item back when there is a little bit left instead of using the last of it and having to crunch the cardboard, cut out the box top, and throw away the plastic. What makes this especially annoying is I will open a new package of aforementioned item.

This is completely justifiable with cereal. The end of a box of cereal is just gross, but there might be someone who enjoys particles of sugar and wheat so I don't want to throw it away. It has nothing to do with being too lazy to crunch the cardboard, cut out the box top and throw away the plastic.

It's probably less justifiable with potato or tortilla chips. There really isn't anyone who wants stale or crunched chips, but I like to be on the safe side.

One of the first things Kirt did when he came home was throw away all the bags of stale, crunched, and pulverized food. My mom organized the Tupperware so he had the time.

I'm not normally a lazy person so I'm trying to figure out some other motivation I might have for leaving a little bit.

Some of it might be related to not wasting food and resources. I try to use things up, but crushed Cocoa Pebbles are beyond my palate.

Some of it might be related to a weird cultural thing. With my grandma, if you cleared your plate, then you got seconds, but if you left a bite, then it meant it was good but you were full. More than a bite was unforgivable.

Some of it might be a denial of death. That's probably what most of our quirky habits relate to. If I leave a little bit, then I don't have to face the basic tenet of life that everything ends. I can fool myself into imagining that there is always something left. I can pretend something new is accessible while still clinging to the old.

Or it could just be that the end of cereal is gross and I'm too lazy to throw it away.