Dishwasher

The place we are renting doesn't have a dishwasher. I am the dishwasher. Our family is small, so the task is not too overwhelming. The first couple of weeks my hands were so dry from being in the water (plus cold January air, and dry climate). They would crack and bleed. I got a really deep, sore cut on my thumb. It took a loooong time to heal. Don't worry no infection. My hands stay very clean with the dishwashing and child washing. Anyway, I bought yellow rubber gloves. Game changer.

Here is the thing about washing all your dishes by hand, it gives you thinking time. I have about a half hour each day to be able to ponder, reflect, think, whatever I want. I like it. It is almost a calming, meditative experience. Of course, sometimes I am tired or the task seems daunting. But I do it everyday, and it is rewarding. Like yoga with one pose.

The first few weeks of living here seems to take us back to simpler times. With no dishwasher you realize you don't need that many dishes. Our heater was also broken. It would work, but it would not maintain the heat. We had to turn it off and wait about twenty minutes and turn it on again to get it to work. It also took awhile to get our internet set up. No internet, no dishwasher, no heat. Am I weird to say that I like it? We put the kids to bed at 8, then we went to bed. I was amazed Garrett was going to bed so early. He said there was nothing else to do and he was freezing. Garrett said we were living like pioneers. But it was fun to go to bed at 8:30, snuggle in order to stay warm, and with no internet distraction, talk to your spouse.

So as weird as it might sound, I am grateful to not have a dishwasher.