The Dreaded Dishes

Just the week before Christmas, our dishwasher decided to call it quits.  I really don't blame the poor appliance.  I mean I was asking it to do two or three loads a day, I never said please or thank you, and the kids were complaining that that the dishes weren't really clean anyway.  It was a thankless job with no fringe benefits.  So one day it just up and quit with no warning.  Well, maybe there was a bit of a warning.  Like I said, the kids were complaining that the dishes weren't really clean anyway and we had been rewashing many of them in the two or three days leading up to said event.  

So with Christmas barely a week away and all the "extra" money already spent on gifts, I did what most moms would do and I posted a dishes job chart.  Everyone got assigned a day and specific instructions were written out about how I expected the job to be done.  This was met with the normal excitement and enthusiasm.

And when I say excitement, I was referring to these two who think that dish duty is the best job ever.  They were most disappointed that they were not on assignment the first day and were ever so pleased when their turn came along.  One month later and they are still just as eager to take over the kitchen after dinner on Wednesday to wash, rinse and dry to their hearts content.  Not only that, but they wash counters, tables and sweep floors, just like the chart tells them to.

Oh, if only all children greeted their chores with this kind of happy energy!

Then we head to the other side of the spectrum, the oldest child.  Lauren dislikes doing dishes and the fact that her first turn fell on Christmas Eve did not improve her disposition toward them.  But since she was one of the biggest critics of the way the dishwasher was working, she has to take her turn and do a better job than the appliance.  Yes, she can get the dishes clean, but she wears blinders when she washes and if the dirty dish is not on the counter adjacent to the sink, then it doesn't exist and she is not responsible for cleaning it.  I sigh.  There is only a year and a half until this one heads out the door to make it in the real world on her own.  Is there still time to finish training?

I don't have any pictures of Steven and Sarah doing dishes probably because they sigh and groan but get into the kitchen and get the job done without drawing more attention to themselves.  William can be a challenge though.  He resists and resists.  Only when every privilege has been taken away and there is no where else to go does he finally relent and run some soapy water.  It takes him forever to get the job done because he would rather do experiments with water and bubbles than get dishes clean.  Don't let the smile below fool you.  He wasn't really washing dishes when this shot was taken, he was just supposed to be washing dishes.

And my final shot is just one that makes me happy.  I don't like to wash dishes any more than most of my kids do and less than some of them.  But when the sink gets filled with my inexpensive, non-breakable, kid-friendly, practical, plastic cereal bowls, I think the effect is quite pleasing.  I like the way the white suds look with the brightly colored bowls scattered among them.  It is one bright spot in a dreary dreaded chore and it makes me smile.