Dishes

Another Monday morning, and another attempt at keeping this blog going. It's not as if I don't have any ideas or doing food things but rather that I am too busy doing to write. This is a short rumination about, funny enough, ritual. I have thought a lot about food rituals, so these posts are an easy one for me while I finish off a post about carrot soup and try to get an application in for BlogTO. I'm not sure that I am the writer that they are looking for due to my lack, and maybe disdain, for listicles and the anti faddishness of my food views. But sometimes when I am feeling lacklustre and bored with this writing thing, I look at some of my posts and think, damn that was a good post. So, I'm gonna apply. Anyways, enough of the chit chat and on with the post.

My one son is having some minor issues of organization so I went hunting for a cool to do list application and found Habitica - a role playing one. It didn't work for him because he is at the uncool Dad stage but my youngest uses it to track his time on the computer when doing daily tasks such as make bed.

I put do dishes and make bed as my daily work. I put it up there because my mom had always told me that I should do those things. I have often used her words of cleanliness when I plan on having a lady friend over and I am rusty in all these things due to being married for a long time. So, I am starting to force an old habit back.

I have a dishwasher. With two kids staying intermittently and the rest of the nights composed of eating cereal out of those little boxes... I'm kidding but the reality is that I do not have enough dishes to fill up the dishwasher without using Mason jars and mixing bowls for cereal and juice. Every morning for the last few weeks, I wash my dishes.

In that time, I find myself slowing down for the morning rush and forced to take a breath. Hot water and clinks lull me into a more calm spot. As I reach the last of the dishes, the thoughts of the day kick in and I can start to plan from a better place. Is the kitchen a type of heaven for me?

Even when the kids are not around in the morning, it makes me feel as if life is normal. When they are there, I am setting an example and get the occasional help. When they are not, I can pretend I hear the one son clacking away in the other room on his laptop using up his time or the other stomping occasionally upstairs.

I often, leave the pans for the evening after work or before bed. Just a little bit of hard work to close off the day. There is something about coming home and putting away the dishes that makes me feel useful without having to do too much. These rituals make my life feel like a palimpset; writing and rewriting my life. Sometimes the chores are a direct copy of the previous day but more often they are slightly different to obfuscate the bits below. When I get home from another day of learning another new thing, it is relaxing to be able to just do the same thing that I know how to do. Comforting. Okay, a bit deep and probably navel gaze-y but what the hell else am I supposed to think about with my hands elbow deep in hot water, suds and food detritus?