Keepin Your Leftovers Fresh......

I remember growing up and my mother going to what some would call, “hen parties”, also known as the famous Tupperware parties.  Do you remember?

This was a time where women could come together, snack, drink, and learn about new orange bowls with pop on lids to help keep their leftovers fresh.

But, were the ladies actually going to these parties to instead help with their own personal leftovers, from the daily grind?  There they would have an opportunity to chat about what’s going on at home, work, family, and even gossip a bit. 

Today, we expats have our own type of Tupperware Party, which we instead call the coffee/lunch days.  This is a time where my fellow expat wives congregate and chat about what issues they may have acclimating to their new surrounding, trying to figure out shopping, or just tired of the cold dark brutal winter.

As an expat wife, or also called as “trailing spouse”, we often have many days of nonexistent calendars and trying to deal with the new life without our old jobs, hobbies, and friends.  With all these changes, we are also trying to make a new life in a whole new country with a whole new language, which Manly has told me that Polish is the 9^th hardest language!

After the sightseeing is over, the husband is at work, and the kids are at school there are only so many days you can do laundry, clean house, and attend those coffee dates.  What else’s there?

Well, there are two options.
A.)  You can give up, mope, and feel sorry about your old leftovers.Which, I must admit I had divulged in this option, and it is the easiest of the two.
B.)  You can make the use of this time and do something for yourself.Yes, Freshin up yourself!

Soon after the honeymoon period I went with option A, and a downward spiral began.  I would pretend to be fine, but was really sad.  As Jackie says in today’s video, I was covering.  Do you have a cover? You can only cover for so long, before it gets moldy.

Now, a year into this assignment, and finally meeting my expat sista from another motha, Annoula, I don’t want to sit here and just wait for my leftovers to rot.

I’ve learned that it’s OK to be “not happy”, as Rosanne put it.  But you can’t let the leftovers takeover; you must, as the great Devo once sang, “Whip It!”.  Ricky-Bobby also gently reminded me that I wouldn’t want to look back one day and regret wasting my time here. 

Darn that Ricky-Bobby……so wise, beyond his years!

So, with that my friends… I’m going to pop off the Tupperware top and throw out my old STANK leftovers to start with a fresh batch of life! Just in time for Spring!

Mandy