dishwasher diaries

my first chore as a child was to empty the silverware out of the dishwasher. brian had to empty the top (usually bowls and cups), and tim, the oldest, emptied the bottom, with the heavy plates and pots, which were also the highest on the shelves. the silverware was easy for a 6 year old to reach, in the drawers below the counter. i got an allowance of $1 every saturday.. 50 cents of which had to go to the church. every year, our allowance went up by another 50 cents. i was in high school before i reached the worthy $5 bill every saturday!

anyway, i *hated* emptying the silverware. im sure i cried and cried daily for 5 times as long complaining than it would have taken to just empty the stupid thing out. i couldnt stand getting them in there straight... especially the spoons.. in their spoon-shaped slot.. they had to go in just so, or it would be a mess. at least the knives just slipped right into the rectangle shaped slot.. but those spoons.. ugh!!! after a few years, i bargained with brian and traded.. i emptied the top, and the evilware was his. muahahaha. that lasted about a month, until my dad decided that i was old enough to empty the entire dishwasher myself.. brian and tim had the majority of the outside chores, such as mowing the lawn. (to this day, i have NEVER mowed a lawn. and now, just because, i will always refuse to. hah. im stubborn.)

i still hate emptying the dishwasher. it's my least favorite chore, with mopping being a close second. (my mom hates laundry, which ive never really minded so much.. you just start it up and then you can do other things. no big deal.) the big irony is that we dont have a spoon-shaped slot in my kitchen drawer.. the spoons just get thrown in amuck and unorganized. i refuse to line up spoons!

my dad worked at night the whole time i was growing up, which means he was at home every day when i got home from school. this had many perks.. it was nice to have a parent home to help with homework, or just to be home to be with me. i didnt have to come home to an empty house like some kids who's parents both worked.. or worse, go to aftercare or a babysitter! nope, i got to go straight home every day. the downside.. he would make me empty the dishwasher after school. i suppose i was lucky that he didnt make me do this BEFORE school... (we arent morning people, not a single one of us).

i remember very clearly the night before my 13th birthday. late night, after dinner, before he left for work, the dishwasher was running. and i asked "daddy, are you gonna empty the dishwasher for me tomorrow, since it's my birthday?" and he said "no." and my mom said "oh come on, on her birthday you wont???" and he said jovially, "no, it's still her job!" and though smiling and light-hearted, he was being serious. when i woke up that morning for school, he was already home and asleep, as he always was in the mornings before school. and there was a post-it note, on the empty dishwasher, that read "happy birthday, teenager."