For the last couple weeks dishwashing has been, well....almost endearing. I know this sounds crazy but.....
Do you remember the days when everyone DIDN"T have a dishwasher or you, as the kid in the family, WERE the dishwasher?
Do you remember standing at the sink with your mom or grandma washing all the dishes after dinner? The smell of those vintage detergents....the conversations...the re-dues after you missed a spot?
I forgot alot of this in my busy grown up life where I put everything except the pots and pans in the machine that cleans them for me.
I keep liquid dishsoap for those pots and pans. Recently I bought a new bottle of Palmolive...because it was the cheapest one that week on the shelves. I didn't think much about it until the first time I used it.....flooding back came memories of my late grandmother. She was my favorite family member the whole time I was growing up and she only used Palmolive....I think it had to do with the whole "hand softening" thing... http://www.truveo.com/Palmolive-Softens-Hands-While-You-Do-the-Dishes/id/2138972249 Anyways the smell the texture it all transported me back to my childhood and I suddenly "missed" doing dishes.
A few weeks after that my oldest son came home from college for Thanksgiving. After dinner I asked him to help me wash the pots and pans from dinner.....of course we used Polmolive. This chore became a great time of the holiday. He washed, I dried, we talked, I made him "re-due" some and we ended up washing ALL the dishes rather than just the pots and pans. It was a great mom/son one on one moment. Now, I don't think he would outwardly tell anyone he enjoyed washing dishes with his mom but I can tell he did. Give it a try, you might be suprised!
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5 comments:
Yes! For me the dish soap is Joy. It was my grandmother's brand. I used to love the smell of lemons and all the wonderful suds, my grandmother's metered breathing and the soothing, comforting knowledge of 'working' beside her. Don't get me started on watching her sew...ohhh! Heaven!
That's great. Funny -I've always detested doing dishes, but a month ago our dishwasher broke and I was forced to slow down and do them by hand. Ironically, it was such a stress relief - perhaps the warm water has a "bath-like" relaxation affect
I can really see how this would make great bonding time. thanks for sharing
I truly love this post. One of my favorite things as I got older was stepping into the kitchen with my granmothers, mother, and sister-in-law to wash the dishes and just dish. It was kind of a personal sign of my coming of age. It was also an escape from certain annoying relatives lingering at the table! I miss those big holiday dinners. Family is much smaller these days and spread out!!
So true. My dishwasher recently crapped out and I have to say it was a blessing in disguise. I realized that I am much faster than the dishwasher and it kind of helps me unwind. I never thought I'd say but either but I too enjoy washing dishes. Although it used to make me cry when I was growing up.
My electric bill has gone down too. So I'm not pressing my husband to go out and buy a new dishwasher just yet. I actually keep up better when I have to have to wash them. I don't let them pile up because I don't have to feel guilty for not running the dishwasher when it's full.
I also realized over the holidays how gathering in the kitchen to wash dishes after a big family meal is such a meaningful part of the whole event. The aunts, sisters, cousins, etc. Sneaking a bite of left-overs off the platters as we clean up... Chatting more intimately than at the big table...
My in-laws just don't operate that way. When I host, it is solitude in the kitchen and when they host, they hire help which makes me so so uncomfortable at a small family gathering.
Thanks for letting me vent :)
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