Leftovers

Thanksgiving is over. All the pie is gone and most of the cake because everyone likes dessert. The turkey carcass has been boiled down for soup. Any remaining potatoes, cranberries, and green beans have been tossed. There are no leftovers. Everyone is ready for Mexican food or pizza.

But what about the leftover thoughts? The nagging results of that one errant comment made by your aunt. The bad joke told by your sister’s boyfriend. The ongoing argument between your dad and uncle over politics. Who wraps those leftovers up and takes them home to bring out at the next family gathering? Are they frozen in time and then brought out as fresh on Christmas? Or are they left to dissolve into a fetid stew of familial memory? Thanksgiving is over; leftovers are not.