Ode to the Dishes
I remember the first time I did the dishes. I was in third grade, and I had to do a good deed every day for my CCD (AKA weekly Catholic brainwash) class. It wasn't a bad idea to have our parents sign off on stuff, but as a bitter former Catholic, I do protest the purpose of having to do good deeds: in honor of the sacrament of Reconciliation, which is our first visit to the confessional, followed by First Holy Communion.
Anywho, I had to kneel on a chair just to be high enough to reach the damn sink, and the plates were unwieldly, and my parents were hemming and hawing that I was taking too long and using too much water. My mom berated me for not squeezing the sponge after I rinsed it. It was exhausting. I would have regretted volunteering for that particular chore had I not assumed that my suffering was inherently a good thing. Yay Catholic guilt complex.
When I was called upon to do dishes later in my school days, I hated it because they were never-ending. I got yelled at for not doing dishes and when I did them I wasted water.
When I first had to live on my own I dreaded having to do the dishes. But I noticed something after I did all my own chores for my apartment: I liked housework. Not that I would want to do it every day. But it is comforting and relaxing, Zen-like. I get my best inspiration doing the most menial tasks. I think I must meditate when I do them. But today when I washed the last of the dishes, I was greeted by the inexplicably wonderful Empty Sink. Usually when my roommates are home I'll run up and grab them and drag them to the sink to show them. I'm not sure they appreciate it on quite the same level I do, but it does give them some relief. I think it has to do with the Tao, once again. Entropy is a result of yin, of inaction and chaos, and we must balance yin and yang. Entropy is also a result of time passing, which we cannot change. And namely entropy is what causes dust and detereoration in homes. We cannot stop entropy; indeed, it is one of those many thing we can't stand but can't live without since the same chaos behind entropy is what rules things like probability and surprise. So where entropy leaves its residue, we find relief in restoring balance to our homes and thus to our minds. This is why houses begin to crumble and need "work done" to them. Carpenters, plumbers, construction workers, they are removing yin so it balances yang. An earh-moving vehicle may simply be attempting a feng shui, a balance between time's wear and new untested ground.
Probably a bit too deep for dishes. I'm too sleepy, I can no longer type.
Anywho, I had to kneel on a chair just to be high enough to reach the damn sink, and the plates were unwieldly, and my parents were hemming and hawing that I was taking too long and using too much water. My mom berated me for not squeezing the sponge after I rinsed it. It was exhausting. I would have regretted volunteering for that particular chore had I not assumed that my suffering was inherently a good thing. Yay Catholic guilt complex.
When I was called upon to do dishes later in my school days, I hated it because they were never-ending. I got yelled at for not doing dishes and when I did them I wasted water.
When I first had to live on my own I dreaded having to do the dishes. But I noticed something after I did all my own chores for my apartment: I liked housework. Not that I would want to do it every day. But it is comforting and relaxing, Zen-like. I get my best inspiration doing the most menial tasks. I think I must meditate when I do them. But today when I washed the last of the dishes, I was greeted by the inexplicably wonderful Empty Sink. Usually when my roommates are home I'll run up and grab them and drag them to the sink to show them. I'm not sure they appreciate it on quite the same level I do, but it does give them some relief. I think it has to do with the Tao, once again. Entropy is a result of yin, of inaction and chaos, and we must balance yin and yang. Entropy is also a result of time passing, which we cannot change. And namely entropy is what causes dust and detereoration in homes. We cannot stop entropy; indeed, it is one of those many thing we can't stand but can't live without since the same chaos behind entropy is what rules things like probability and surprise. So where entropy leaves its residue, we find relief in restoring balance to our homes and thus to our minds. This is why houses begin to crumble and need "work done" to them. Carpenters, plumbers, construction workers, they are removing yin so it balances yang. An earh-moving vehicle may simply be attempting a feng shui, a balance between time's wear and new untested ground.
Probably a bit too deep for dishes. I'm too sleepy, I can no longer type.