What does my empty plate say about me?
Eating habits at the end of the meal
After clearing the lunch plates on Friday, I had an epiphany. Typically, my husband and I each clear our plates and put them in the dishwasher, but on this particular day, we both left the table to complete some task. I returned to the table a few minutes later to remove the dishes.
When I reached down to pick up the plates, I noticed that my plate was completely clean, barely used. My husband’s plate had food left on it, and the plate was obviously dirty.
At that moment, I realized how these dishes represented our personalities. My plate, like my life or how I want it to be (!), was neat and orderly. Everything in its place, nice and tidy. The plate was also efficient, no need to scrape the plate. It could go straight into the dishwasher.
My husband’s plate was a different story. He had food left, so the food had to be scraped into the trash. The fork and knife weren’t in a convenient spot to pick up, so I had to adjust those before moving the plate. What does his plate say about his personality? At the time, I was only thinking about how his plate affected my current schedule. How much more work it required before I could put his dish in the dishwasher.
But, thinking about it, I came to realize how much it represented his personality. When he eats, he clearly focuses on his food, not thinking about wasting food or cleaning it up later.
During most lunch meals, we work on the Wall Street Journal’s crossword puzzle, so we don’t merely eat and leave the table. We continue working after our food is eaten, so our plates sit in front of us. For me, it’s hard to see a dirty plate sitting there.
In the grand scheme of things, why does this really matter? It doesn’t, except that I eat more in an effort to make my plate orderly.
What should I do? Serve myself less, knowing that I will eat whatever is on my plate? Be conscious of what is going on and actively leave food on my plate? Clear my plate as soon as I’m finished eating?
The point is that I have choices. For the upcoming week, I’m going to leave food on my plate and try not to worry about how it looks. By the way, my husband doesn’t believe I can do it. Now, I know I will do it! Another insight into my personality.
What does your plate say about you? And your partner’s or children’s plates? The next time you go have dinner with friends, take a look at their plates and see what you can glean about their personalities.