By Kathryn
“Don’t let your meat loaf.”
I still get called down to set the table and have a mandatory, sit down dinner with my family every night. If you had told a 15-year-old me that I would still be living at home in ten years, she would have said you were wrong. Now that I am in my mid 20s and working on a graduate degree, I am happy to not be paying for food, bills, or home maintenance. Colorful dinner conversations are one of the things that makes living with my parents less painful. A few days ago, we were on the topic of personal statements we live by when my dad simply let out his favorite personal statement: “Don’t let your meat loaf.”
There are only two things on this planet that are allowed to “loaf” in my mind, and that would be bread and cats. If you do not know what a catloaf is google it and thank me later. I do not like the concept of meatloaf so I can get onboard with the not letting my meat loaf statement, but what is the proper definition of “your meat” in relation to the statement? I did a lot of thinking on this and here is what I came up with:
Meat is (unless you’re a vegetarian or vegan) the centerpiece of the meal. So let’s put that into the context of everyday life. What is the centerpiece of your day? Is it the morning walk with your dog? Watching the local weather with your cat? The smell of the coffee brewing in the kitchen? No matter what it is, those are the types of activities that make your day feel put together. Complete, almost. These past few months have proven that it is important to take care of yourself and not neglect the pieces of your life that make you feel complete and happy. Google defines loaf as to “idle one's time away, typically by aimless wandering or loitering.” Doing things that make you happiest should never be done aimlessly.
So, don’t let your meat loaf.