Doing Dishes
I walked into the kitchen and glanced at the pile of dishes in the sink. I'd made a casserole last night for dinner and had several dishes piled up. I'd finished cooking later than I'd anticipated and just didn't have the time to do dishes at the end of the day, plus there were a few added ones in there from breakfast this morning. That was fine with me. Doing dishes was never something that bothered me. It was one of the only chores in the house that I was actually happy to do.
I turned the water on hot to start filling up the left side of the sink. I didn't want to add too much water, but just enough for the bottom dishes to start soaking. As the water starting filling in around the dishes, I pulled my hair back into a ponytail at the base of my neck. I immediately felt the tightening in my head, I couldn't stand wearing my hair up as it almost always caused a headache. I hadn't put it too tight, but I loosened it up a little around the ponytail holder, just in case. I pulled open the cabinet beneath the sink and pulled out the dish soap. I held it upside down and watched as one...two....three drops fell into the water and started forming bubbles. I let a few more drops fall again and then lifted the bottle again. I splashed the water around with my hand, forming even more bubbles, the water was hot, but not scalding hot yet.
I slowly began rolling both of my sleeves up to my elbows. I could see the water filling into my cereal bowl from this morning, dripping over the sides when it filled completely. I let the water fill for another minute as I watches bubbles rise and expand and then turned it off. The sink was about half filled with bubbly water, making the small amount of dishes in there look larger, distorted. I turned my head one way, then the other, watching as the dishes moved with me. Larger, smaller, wider, thinner. It was mesmerizing.
I grabbed the sponge from behind the faucet and let it soak in the hot water for a minute, feeling it soak up and fill with water, getting heavier. I added a few drops of soap to the sponge and then dug in the clean the dishes, starting with the cereal bowl first. As I let my hands fall into the hot soapy water, I felt my muscles relaxing. This was one of the (many) reasons I didn't mind doing dishes. It was like I had a chill I didn't know about, and as my hands sat in the warm water, the chill slowly left my body. I could feel it working it's way around, first my arms, then my stomach, my legs, my feet. I felt warm all over.
I pulled the bowl out of the warm water and began lightly scrubbing it. I'd only used it for cereal this morning and remembered to rinse it out, which I almost never do, so the dish didn't need much scrubbing. As I thought this though, I glanced down at the casserole dish, lying in wait at the bottom of the sink. I had NOT remembered to rinse that dish out, or soak it, or do anything I should have done with it. So there it sat, waiting for me, with food baked on all four sides. That would be the last thing I washed, that was for sure.
As I continued pulling out spoons and plates and washing them one by one, I thought back over my day. We're still doing testing, so our schedules are pretty chaotic right now. Overall though, the day had been a success. Kids were well behaved and worked hard on their test. They worked hard the whole day in fact. I smiled, the week was almost over and I felt like it had gone by in a blur. How was it already over? I moved on to thoughts about groceries, cleaning, and grading. As I came across each thought, I started compartmentalizing...what needs to be done tonight? What will be done this weekend? Over the weekend when? In the morning? Afternoon? Evening? This was one of the other reasons I liked doing dishes. It relaxed my mind as well as my body. I could let my mind wander, making lists, thinking over my day. By the time I was done with dishes, my brain could relax. It had done all the necessary thinking for the day.
I finally dragged the casserole dish out of the bottom of the sink. By this point it had been soaking about five minutes in hot water, so it wasn't as hard to scrub food off of, though it still had plenty. Clearing my head, I dug in to scrubbing with all my might...
I turned the water on hot to start filling up the left side of the sink. I didn't want to add too much water, but just enough for the bottom dishes to start soaking. As the water starting filling in around the dishes, I pulled my hair back into a ponytail at the base of my neck. I immediately felt the tightening in my head, I couldn't stand wearing my hair up as it almost always caused a headache. I hadn't put it too tight, but I loosened it up a little around the ponytail holder, just in case. I pulled open the cabinet beneath the sink and pulled out the dish soap. I held it upside down and watched as one...two....three drops fell into the water and started forming bubbles. I let a few more drops fall again and then lifted the bottle again. I splashed the water around with my hand, forming even more bubbles, the water was hot, but not scalding hot yet.
I slowly began rolling both of my sleeves up to my elbows. I could see the water filling into my cereal bowl from this morning, dripping over the sides when it filled completely. I let the water fill for another minute as I watches bubbles rise and expand and then turned it off. The sink was about half filled with bubbly water, making the small amount of dishes in there look larger, distorted. I turned my head one way, then the other, watching as the dishes moved with me. Larger, smaller, wider, thinner. It was mesmerizing.
I grabbed the sponge from behind the faucet and let it soak in the hot water for a minute, feeling it soak up and fill with water, getting heavier. I added a few drops of soap to the sponge and then dug in the clean the dishes, starting with the cereal bowl first. As I let my hands fall into the hot soapy water, I felt my muscles relaxing. This was one of the (many) reasons I didn't mind doing dishes. It was like I had a chill I didn't know about, and as my hands sat in the warm water, the chill slowly left my body. I could feel it working it's way around, first my arms, then my stomach, my legs, my feet. I felt warm all over.
I pulled the bowl out of the warm water and began lightly scrubbing it. I'd only used it for cereal this morning and remembered to rinse it out, which I almost never do, so the dish didn't need much scrubbing. As I thought this though, I glanced down at the casserole dish, lying in wait at the bottom of the sink. I had NOT remembered to rinse that dish out, or soak it, or do anything I should have done with it. So there it sat, waiting for me, with food baked on all four sides. That would be the last thing I washed, that was for sure.
As I continued pulling out spoons and plates and washing them one by one, I thought back over my day. We're still doing testing, so our schedules are pretty chaotic right now. Overall though, the day had been a success. Kids were well behaved and worked hard on their test. They worked hard the whole day in fact. I smiled, the week was almost over and I felt like it had gone by in a blur. How was it already over? I moved on to thoughts about groceries, cleaning, and grading. As I came across each thought, I started compartmentalizing...what needs to be done tonight? What will be done this weekend? Over the weekend when? In the morning? Afternoon? Evening? This was one of the other reasons I liked doing dishes. It relaxed my mind as well as my body. I could let my mind wander, making lists, thinking over my day. By the time I was done with dishes, my brain could relax. It had done all the necessary thinking for the day.
I finally dragged the casserole dish out of the bottom of the sink. By this point it had been soaking about five minutes in hot water, so it wasn't as hard to scrub food off of, though it still had plenty. Clearing my head, I dug in to scrubbing with all my might...
This is so unbelievably like my life; it's uncanny. From students testing to cereal bowls to warm dish water ridding me of chills. Your vivid descriptions of doing dishes were so spot on, down to every detail. I loved, "I could see the water filling into my cereal bowl from this morning, dripping over the sides when it filled completely." Perfect slice!
ReplyDeleteI can picture your sink and get as mesmerized as you by the bubbles and steam. Very descriptive piece, and a nice way to reflect on the day and clean the dishes.
ReplyDelete