Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Some things are better left for a professional.

A story from my teen years.
{and I have chosen carefully}

Even though my mom had a full-time job and was raising four kids on her own, she cooked breakfast for us every morning before we went to school. Because there was always a mad rush in the morning, she would stack the dishes in the kitchen sink and my sister, Valerie, and I took turns every day after school washing dishes. To this day, I swear Mom made the messy breakfasts when it was my day for dishes. Val got the days with hard boiled eggs and toast. I got the days with biscuits and chocolate. {Yes. You read that right. Biscuits and chocolate.}
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I didn't realize until I had a teenager of my own that handing out responsibilities meant you have to be completely specific. Mom never said anything about drying the dishes and putting them away. I hated the drying part! Even though this is probably not something I should be proud of, I am just the same: I was the master at piling wet dishes in the dish drainer so that they'd all fit {somehow} and I wouldn't have to dry or put them away.
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So...fast forward 35 years to my lunch break on Monday. I came home to a kitchen full of dirty dishes - busy day on Sunday and I had to leave them. So, I washed up the dishes and piled them into the dish drainer. That night, as Doug was helping clean up after dinner he stood staring at the stack of dishes in the drainer.


He said, "Uh...I'm afraid to lift anything for fear that it will all come tumbling down."
My reply? "Step aside, my dear, I'm a professional..."


November Attitude of Gratitude:
* I am grateful for a mom who fed us healthy breakfasts even though she was seriously pressed for time.
* I am grateful for a mom who fed us chocolate sometimes at breakfast.
* I am grateful for my sister who grew up to be one of my very best friends.
* I am grateful for a husband who doesn't mind helping clean the kitchen.

17 comments:

Ruth said...

What a lovely post! x

Beverly said...

I think maybe we have to be more specific with boys :) Off to do those dirty dishes staring at me :/

Valerie said...

Thanks for making me tear up first thing in the morning! Remember when we used to have to do the dishes together and we would fight? I shoved that piece of bread down your pants and was laughing hysterical until you shoved that same piece of bread in my mouth??? Memories....Love you more than anything--I am one lucky girl to have you and those memories!

debs14 said...

I've encouraged my husband to believe that he is the only one able to load up the dishwasher efficiently - he doesn't realise it was just a ploy to pass that job over to him ;-)
Love the memories you have shared today, you have some good stories to tell!

Stephanie @ La Dolce Vita said...

Love the post and the attitude of gratitude! (as the youngest, I had dish duty EVERY night, except for when my grandma felt bad for me and did it. poor stephie! lol!)

humel said...

lol!! I'm champion at piling stuff onto the drainer, too - if it comes to that at all... I'm even more champion at squeezing as much as possible into the dishwasher and leaving anything that won't fit for The Doctor to wash up.... ;-)

Mom said...

This is exactly what I needed first thing this morning before I head into a day that promises to be one of my worse yet! My girls! What a team you were! So very happy you ended up best friends--even with all the dishwashing drama in your past!

My gratitude for the day? My sweet husband has taken the day off to take me to Aunt Betty's. Which means I won't have to do an over-night--lots of turmoil up in Carson City right now. I'll leave that for a phone call--not a blog post!

Bottom line? You made my day! Love you, Sweetie! xo

Unknown said...

Cute post today. :) I hate doing the dishes...

Sian said...

Great story - it made me laugh, and then I loved that added punch of the gratitude lessons at the bottom. Perfect.

Becky said...

What a lovely memory to record and to be honest and say that you still do pile the dishes up! Love the gratitude piece at the bottom of each of your blog posts this month :)

MarleneMAZ said...

My dish drainer looks like that every day! There is an art to getting everything in there and having it balance just right :)

Liberty :) said...

a great story!!! I am grateful for a husband who does the ironing! X

Amy said...

I used to be the dryer for my dad, those nights after dinner are times I remember and love, we had some of our best conversations :-)

Margaret said...

I think you missed your calling. You should have been an engineer. Like your gratitude thing. I may have to steal that (while giving credit, of course).

Anonymous said...

I don't do the washing up in our house but sometimes enjoy drying as David washes so that we can have little conversations.

Maria Ontiveros said...

What a great, great story and so well told! Thanks for sharing it.
Rinda

Kat said...

That's so funny. I am from a family of ten kids. (Me and my three older sisters always made a game out of doing the dishes...Its a long story but I just wanted to let you know you haver touched my heart and jogged my good memories today!
Kat Griffin (DblRainbow.etsy.com)

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