My dishwasher broke a few weeks ago. Actually, it started leaking on Christmas Eve...after we had just sunk a nice chunk of money into replacing the digital keypad the week before. We thought we fixed it, but just after New Years it started flooding the kitchen floor again.
This time, though, we were leaving town in the next few days, so we waited to shop for a replacement.
I bought this
for $8.50 at Tar-jay and proceeded to hand-wash everything like my mama did.
We have been back in town for almost a week now, and I am still using it.
Not that I don't want a new dishwasher. But I think I am going to scale back, since the nice stainless steel tres chic model didn't last two years...and the $300 it would cost to fix it is more than the basic model that I used to have "back in the day"...that lasted for ten years. Yes, I think I will go back to the basic wash-o-matic with knobs and mechanical parts and do more handwashing.
So you wonder why I am telling you this, right?
Because in two weeks of hand-washing dishes, I have had unforgettable conversations with DJ and Katie. Conversations about life and dreams and why and how and chuckles that I would have missed if I had stuck them in the tres chic appliance and walked away while it did the dirty work.
In these years of the "tween," when hormones are cruel and emotions are volatile, I have stood side-by-side with my hands immersed in suds and my big kids rinsed and dried. Who would have thought I would find eternal value in a sink full of soapy water?
But I have.
What else am I missing?
What else is slipping by quietly?
Simplify. Yes, that is the nudge I have felt for so long. And little-by-little we have simplified. Turn the TV off. Pull out a puzzle. Sit down together with a good book.
Wash the dirty dishes.
I will replace the broken dishwasher soon. But I plan to remember and choose to use it less. Save it for jobs bigger than my sink. Maybe just when we have company.
But I am going to stand side by side with my son as much as possible because, today, he said to me as we worked "Mom, doing dishes by hand is kinda fun."
I smiled and rejoiced in my heart, because I know he was enjoying more than the dishes.
This time, though, we were leaving town in the next few days, so we waited to shop for a replacement.
I bought this
for $8.50 at Tar-jay and proceeded to hand-wash everything like my mama did.
We have been back in town for almost a week now, and I am still using it.
Not that I don't want a new dishwasher. But I think I am going to scale back, since the nice stainless steel tres chic model didn't last two years...and the $300 it would cost to fix it is more than the basic model that I used to have "back in the day"...that lasted for ten years. Yes, I think I will go back to the basic wash-o-matic with knobs and mechanical parts and do more handwashing.
So you wonder why I am telling you this, right?
Because in two weeks of hand-washing dishes, I have had unforgettable conversations with DJ and Katie. Conversations about life and dreams and why and how and chuckles that I would have missed if I had stuck them in the tres chic appliance and walked away while it did the dirty work.
In these years of the "tween," when hormones are cruel and emotions are volatile, I have stood side-by-side with my hands immersed in suds and my big kids rinsed and dried. Who would have thought I would find eternal value in a sink full of soapy water?
But I have.
What else am I missing?
What else is slipping by quietly?
Simplify. Yes, that is the nudge I have felt for so long. And little-by-little we have simplified. Turn the TV off. Pull out a puzzle. Sit down together with a good book.
Wash the dirty dishes.
I will replace the broken dishwasher soon. But I plan to remember and choose to use it less. Save it for jobs bigger than my sink. Maybe just when we have company.
But I am going to stand side by side with my son as much as possible because, today, he said to me as we worked "Mom, doing dishes by hand is kinda fun."
I smiled and rejoiced in my heart, because I know he was enjoying more than the dishes.
That sweet boy is welcome to come wash my dishes anytime! ;)
ReplyDeleteI love how simple chores can become so much more. I had a dishwashing helper last night.
ReplyDelete