Great Tragedy has befallen the King home. Death has touched us. With wailing and gnashing of teeth, we acknowledge that the dishwasher is no more. Well, technically, it's still in the kitchen ( I need the extra counter space), but it no longer functions as it was designed. Dead. I guess it goes with out saying that a woman with 4 kids does not enjoy doing dishes. In fact, after a simple meal of sandwiches, I often feel like my kitchen resembles the photo above! The kids don't yet know how bad it really is.
You see, my sweetie and I have decided NOT to buy a dishwasher. For a time. When we first bought our home, we bought a portable dishwasher, with the intention that it would last until we were able to remodel the kitchen and install a REAL dishwasher, you know, the type that fits under the counter top and is plumbed. Like any mom worth her salt, I'm forever wagging my finger at my kids telling them how easy they've got it. How when I was a girl, I had to do dishes every night, by hand. And I did. I remember my sisters and I standing on chairs, lined up at the sink, one washing, one rinsing, and one drying. We would inspect each dish, looking for a reason to reject it and send it back to the washer. Retribution came when it was our turn to wash.
Well, I'm not anywhere near a kitchen remodel, unless I win one of those $5000 gift cards to Home Depot I'm forever completing online surveys for. So we wash. By hand. After every meal. Mind you, we are just getting started on this "adventure", so the complaining has to this point has really been nonexistent. For that, I'm thankful, but I'm sure that will change. So, why on earth would a busy mom fore go the assistance of an electric dishwasher? In our time, it is considered to be a necessity. My answer: relationships. Our oldest will be 16 in a month (wow, just realized that). In a few short years, the concentrated opportunity we have to speak into the lives of our children will dwindle. We have limited time to share what we've learned, how we've failed, to convey family history, to encourage. To learn of them and from them.
If we had an operational dishwasher, the default activity after dinner would be for everyone to rinse and load their own dinner dishes into the dishwasher. Mom would then (maybe) hand wash the big stuff and wipe the counter tops down. Alone. Standing at the sink, for twenty or thirty minutes at a time with one or more of the kids is a chance I couldn't let pass. I look forward to hearing their dreams. Fears. What they are learning. We live such a fast paced life, this will force us to slow down, together. I'm actually looking forward to it.
Sweetie and I don't want the kids to know our intentions. In fact, he's often said that if our four could agree on anything, they would take over the world. I'm sure, that if they found out that we were INTENTIONALLY not purchasing a dishwasher, a coup would result. You know something like selling their treasures, pooling their resources, and buying mom a KitchenAid dishwasher. A KitchenAid KUDS02FRSS - S Series 24" Dishwasher. Stainless Steel, inside and out.
I'll keep you posted.
You see, my sweetie and I have decided NOT to buy a dishwasher. For a time. When we first bought our home, we bought a portable dishwasher, with the intention that it would last until we were able to remodel the kitchen and install a REAL dishwasher, you know, the type that fits under the counter top and is plumbed. Like any mom worth her salt, I'm forever wagging my finger at my kids telling them how easy they've got it. How when I was a girl, I had to do dishes every night, by hand. And I did. I remember my sisters and I standing on chairs, lined up at the sink, one washing, one rinsing, and one drying. We would inspect each dish, looking for a reason to reject it and send it back to the washer. Retribution came when it was our turn to wash.
Well, I'm not anywhere near a kitchen remodel, unless I win one of those $5000 gift cards to Home Depot I'm forever completing online surveys for. So we wash. By hand. After every meal. Mind you, we are just getting started on this "adventure", so the complaining has to this point has really been nonexistent. For that, I'm thankful, but I'm sure that will change. So, why on earth would a busy mom fore go the assistance of an electric dishwasher? In our time, it is considered to be a necessity. My answer: relationships. Our oldest will be 16 in a month (wow, just realized that). In a few short years, the concentrated opportunity we have to speak into the lives of our children will dwindle. We have limited time to share what we've learned, how we've failed, to convey family history, to encourage. To learn of them and from them.
If we had an operational dishwasher, the default activity after dinner would be for everyone to rinse and load their own dinner dishes into the dishwasher. Mom would then (maybe) hand wash the big stuff and wipe the counter tops down. Alone. Standing at the sink, for twenty or thirty minutes at a time with one or more of the kids is a chance I couldn't let pass. I look forward to hearing their dreams. Fears. What they are learning. We live such a fast paced life, this will force us to slow down, together. I'm actually looking forward to it.
Sweetie and I don't want the kids to know our intentions. In fact, he's often said that if our four could agree on anything, they would take over the world. I'm sure, that if they found out that we were INTENTIONALLY not purchasing a dishwasher, a coup would result. You know something like selling their treasures, pooling their resources, and buying mom a KitchenAid dishwasher. A KitchenAid KUDS02FRSS - S Series 24" Dishwasher. Stainless Steel, inside and out.
I'll keep you posted.
