After being up at the hospital with my son for nearly two weeks, my refrigerator was in desperate need of purging.
As I went through the Tupperware containers of food, I was reminded of "leftover" nights as a child.
My mom would pull all of the leftovers out of the fridge and set out a buffet-style meal.
We didn't have much money, so these meals generally consisted of leftover casseroles and various dishes made with chicken.
I remember wondering if my friends who had more money than we did had leftover nights at their house too.
I honestly don't recall ever asking them though. Probably because I thought it was an embarrassing question.
Looking back now I'm sure that they did.
I don't know if I have ever met a family who can cook only the exact amount of food that they will eat for each meal. If they do exist, I wish they would share their tricks with me.
Maybe there's a YouTube video out there I've missed.
Now that I'm running my own household, we have leftover nights too.
And there are still lots of leftover dishes made with chicken.
My boys grumble more about eating leftovers than I did. Or at least more than I remember grumbling about it.
I've worked hard to be able to give them a much more comfortable life than the one I had growing up.
But I see how not having to struggle as much sometimes affects their ability to understand and appreciate the value of certain things.
Like how much food costs.
You'd think I was asking them to swallow poison when I put out leftovers that had been in the fridge for three or four days.
I sometimes have to Google articles that tell them how long food can be stored before it goes bad so they have an "expert" opinion that tells them it's okay.
I often laugh and say, "Just wait until you have your own place and are paying for all of your own food. I bet you'll eat your leftovers then!" (Maybe...)
Being furloughed from work the past few months has actually given me a little more leverage though.
In many ways, this challenging time we are in is teaching them more about struggle, and the value of money.
And I'm grateful for that.
We're stretching our dollars further these days, and being much more diligent about how we are spending the money we do have.
They are learning the value of not spending every dollar they make and having money in the bank.
We've had detailed conversations about how important it is not to take for granted that there will always be a paycheck coming in.
They see how critical it was that I had an emergency fund to be able to support our family these past few months.
They are also learning these lessons:
That a job is never guaranteed, no matter how long you've worked there.
That you can't expect someone else to hand you money and rescue you. Even if there is money to be had, it can take months before you see any of it.
That it's cheaper to eat at home than it is to go out.
That those stops at Kwik Trip for snacks add up to big money in the course of a year.
Tough lessons for teenagers to wrap their heads around, but important ones.
I learned these lessons the hard way by having to grow up very early in life. And I'm a better person for it.
I know that my boys will be better people for the lessons they are learning this year too.
Some days I have to dig deep to find the silver lining in this sh*t show of a year we are having.
But if this experience causes them to grumble just a little bit less on leftover nights, I'll take that as a win.
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