Yesterday was the day to recoup from the festivities of Thanksgiving, and the day to tackle making turkey soup. As a former vegetarian, making turkey soup from scratch, is a challenge. I didn’t grow up watching a mother or grandmother make it, and I have only seen one person, one time — my husband, make it. Well, yesterday was my day.

You see, I don’t even cook the Thanksgiving turkey, my husband does. He has a tried and true Joy of Cooking recipe that he follows, deliciously, to the letter. It’s my job to make the gravy . . . Southern style. So, by the time yesterday came, I had only enjoyed the turkey feast, I hadn’t gotten my hands dirty by being involved with the bird.

After cutting off the meat, (a mean feat I must say) I dropped the bird into hot water. After the bird cooked down a few hours, I scraped the remaining meat off and out of every imaginable cavity that darn bird had. I must admit I felt accomplished. As I was dealing, so intimately with the bird, I began to think about the creative benefits of reusing and recycling. As artists and writers we often think we have to reinvent the wheel every time we step up to the proverbial plate. Cookin’ down the bird taught me the value of working with something that others might consider already done.

Creativity and wellness message for today: Reuse something that you have created, in a new way. Dust off that old manuscript and select a chapter as the basis for an article. Reach your hands deeper into the dark places of something you thought was complete and fully cooked, see what you find to expand in a different way. Recycle, rethink, and enjoy the rich broth of your renewed creativity.