Oh No! Not The Dishes Again!

My dishwasher is broken, right on time, too. When I say that, I mean right after 7 or 8 years of purchase, just as the sales guy back then had predicted. If I stop to contemplate that, well, I will be starting my snippet at a tangent. So, my dishwasher is broken, which means hand-washing the dishes. Those of you who know me know how much I simply despise doing dishes - well, most of 'those' friends are not here anyway. That tidbit about dishwashing is for the benefit of those who don't know me. If you want to punish me, assign dishwashing. As sisters, we had chores distributed, and thank goodness, my sister loved doing dishes.

Ask my SIL, who visits from India, and she will promise you that she loves doing dishes - all because of the hot/warm water that is available. My sister, who visits every winter, won't let me touch a dish and takes care of it. My close friends, well, while they don't help their spouses, they make sure that my sink is clean before they leave. Why all these people, even my FIL knew how much I disliked it. If the maid did not show up that day, he would make sure to do the dishes - all because one time he had caught me crying in the kitchen in front of the sink. Bless his heart, since then, he has taken care.

Standing in front of the sink and doing dishes always reminds me of Mrs.P. Don't get me wrong. DH wants to help, indeed helps, but yours truly is never happy - mostly with the way the dishes are left to dry and all that water....on the counter and sometimes on the floor beneath. So, after letting him do it for a couple of days, I'm standing in front of the sink. Thank goodness for that window over the sink and the lovely trees showcasing bright colors, the morning sun coming up brightly and beautifully - all despite the snow already falling, not to forget the dogs running around, chasing each other after hearing my command, "play". Really, the moment I say play, they start chasing one another! I am not complaining. Despite her whims and fancies, Mother Nature is on my side - that's how I feel.

Anyway, coming back to Mrs. P, I have known her for a quarter of a century, perhaps, and without sounding impolite, let me say that I get scared to talk to her. But the one thing I always remember about her is her dishwashing. Man! Did she have a method or what? She never used the dishwasher. One side of her sink was filled with warm, soapy water, dishes soaking there, she picking up one dish at a time, cleaning with a soft, soapy cloth, keeping the dishes on the other side, rinsing them off, laying them on the counter for excess water to rinse off, then taking a neat towel and wipiing each dish with love and care to put them away in thier respective spot. If dish doing was meditative for her, watching her was for me!

As I do my dishes, thinking of her first thing in the morning. Oh! I didn't tell you that, did I? I am not one of those people who can do dishes and have a clean kitchen before going to bed, especially if I have to hand-wash. Oh no! So as I think of her, my eyes are drawn to my copper 'chembu' in which I keep water to drink. Well, well, don't run off with your ideas of health and this and that....most of the habits are a way of remembering people I love, and in this instance, my grandma and mom, and the fact that that chembu was given by a dear friend. As a ritual, I do clean that copper vessel with tamarind and salt every other day to keep it nice and shiny. Looking at my soapy hands doing dishes, thinking of the copper vessels and even the brass ones that our grandparents used, there is an 'aha' moment as I realize how simple it was - cleaning all those vessels with tamarind and salt: no soap, no dishwasher, no chemicals......and the whole cycle. Maybe they had a method that was more efficient. Maybe we have complicated our lives in our effort to simplify, maybe! Yes! I think I can assure you I would have easily handwashed those vessels for the sheer joy of seeing how beautiful they look. I know, I know it is all in perspective.....

PS: Yes, an order has been placed for a new dishwasher. Yes, I did check the life span of this model and I have been told simply ....."very long". Phew! And yes, I am looking at a couple of weeks of 'my sink and I' and staring out of the window.