A Think Full of Dishes

A Think Full of Dishes

Behold, the beauty of a sink full of dishes. Are you the one in the home who gets stuck washing the most dishes?
     Most households have a dish washing machine, but it is still possible to have a sink full AND a dish washing machine full of dirty dishes. There are well meaning spouses and family members among us who love to cook and eat the delicious meals cranked out in the kitchen on a daily basis but won't get involved with the clean-up process.
     I don't mind hand washing dishes. Don't get me wrong. I adore my dish washing machine and use it often but from time to time when I've had a particularly busy week, I have allowed the dishes to pile up for two reasons.
     One, it's my passive aggressive way of protesting the lack of helpers in the house.
     "I need a fork," one family member will eventually say. "Where can I find a fork?"
     "Tons of them in the sink," I'll reply. "Help yourself. I have to go for an errand. Be right back."
     Eventually someone gets the idea, pops in a dish detergent gel pack in the little compartment of the dish washing machine and hits the start button. When I return from my errand, I might see some dirty dishes missing from the sink.
     Two, I use washing dishes by hand as my part of my creative writing or strategy planning process.
     First, I'll look for my preferred channel on Pandora Internet Radio usually instrumental nouveau flamenco or new age, sometimes alternative rock. Next, I'll pump up the volume. I then assess the dish pile-up and generate my plan of attack.
     Of course. There are glasses buried under haphazard piles of bowls and dishes, thankfully still intact. There are stray spoons and forks in between the dishes and bowls, making the piles unstable and inviting breakage and a couple are peering out of the garbage disposal. I immediately sort like items. I pull all the cutlery and place them in the largest dirty bowl or pot on the counter. I neatly stack all the bowls and dishes and place all the glasses on the counter.
     If the dishwasher is not full, I fill it up quickly with cutlery, glasses and dishes. This maximizes the space used in the dishwasher and significantly cuts down the amount needed to be hand washed. Then, I set aside the plastic containers, larger casserole servers, bowls, pots and pans and super fragile items for hand washing. Once I've hit the start button on the dish washing machine, that's my green light to start hand washing each neat dirty pile I've created. That's when the magic begins.
     There's something calming about having put some kind of order in the dirty dish madness before tackling the chore. It feels like I'm halfway done because I can see the bottom of the sink. Finally, my mind's gateway is able to open.  I robotically wash and set the now clean dishes upside down on a towel on the counter to air dry. I am no longer thinking, "what a mess" or "I can't believe I'm stuck with this again."
     My thoughts instead have turned to the possibilities of the story idea that presented itself in my dream from the night before. I wonder about the man walking his Irish Wolfhound that is so huge that the dog's head towers over his when they are in a standing embrace. I start designing in my head the next promotional flyer I will create to support a non-profit fundraiser I am planning. I decide I'm tired of buying the same ingredients and cooking the same old tired family dishes each week. Once I'm done with the dishes, I run to the kitchen book shelf and flip to a recipe I admired weeks ago from the Flat Belly Diet Book. Grilled scallops with kiwi asparagus salsa. Mmmm. That is appetizing. The dirty dish stress has evaporated from my forehead and shoulders. I'm ready to create.
     I believe dirty dishes are a metaphor for the anecdotes, the ideas and inspirations that come and go in our minds every day. Sometimes we don't allow ourselves time to dump or process some of these thoughts through some kind of meditative activity, be it walking, running or, say it with me, washing dishes. We sometimes let them pile up and overwhelm us.  It's actually the best time to organize our thoughts, just like we do with the dishes.
     So the next time you are looking at a disaster in your sink or other areas of the house for that matter, think about the meditative opportunity that has just presented itself to you. Turn sink time into think time!

Welcome Back, Rested?

Family shadow portrait at Rocky Neck Beach

Family footprints in the sand...

Whether you visited the French Riviera or enjoyed your own backyard all week, the point is, are your body's batteries recharged?
     Some delight in planning the ultimate family vacation months in advance.  That's what Spring Break is for, isn't it?  Flying to some far away resort where someone cooks for you all week and all you have to do is show up, ready to climb aboard the thrill ride of the day. 
     "It's our first trip to Disney World," said one parent I spoke to before break.  "We're going to do it all.  Breakfast with the Princesses, the all-you-can-eat buffet, the shows, the roller coasters."
     There's something magical about experiencing things that we may or may not have enjoyed as a child with our own children.  It certainly gives us an excuse to enjoy the cotton candy and ice cream sundaes that come with the package too!  So we pack our bags and the children's bags and willingly stand on all the lines.  Lines at the airport, at the hotel check-out counter, at the rides (despite the LCD displays warning a 45-minute wait), at the gift shop and sometimes even the bathrooms (oh, the horror)! 
     Oh I've been there.  We waited until my youngest could appreciate the experience and remember it well.  Otherwise, a day trip to Six Flags or the Big E would suffice.  I must say that it was worth every penny to see my daughter's mouth-opened gaze at the "Wishes" extravaganza fireworks display at the Magic Kingdom.  It was equally satisfying to watch my son bouncing like Tigger after each ride; the faster and higher, the better. 
     "Again, again, again!  Please, can we ride it again?" he begged. 
     We did not regret the lines or the literal price we paid for the memories.  It was an ideal family escape from the mundane. 
     More recently, during Winter Break, our family traveled across the country to visit with extended family on the West Coast.  Minus the hotel experience, it was a similar type of vacation.  We ate a lot, stood on lines at Sea World and Hollywood Universal, went swimming, and more importantly, had a chance to catch up.  We only see each other for short visits a couple of times per year, so it was wonderful getting to know my nephews, who now towered over me as teenagers.
     After each of these types of family getaways, as fun-filled as they are, there were always lingering side effects.  It was now time to reckon with the unpacked piles of laundry, a backlog of mail and e-mail, officework and housework and to make up with the family dog who needed extra TLC after being kenneled for so long.  It was soon going to be time for another vacation due to the vacation!
     So during this Spring Break we opted for a more low-key and restful week.  I cooked so much during the holiday weekend that there were enough meals to heat up for the family.  When the food ran out, we enjoyed steak and fish at local restaurants and went out for Italian ices and frozen custard.  We hit baseballs and softballs at the cages and golf balls at the driving range. 
     "What fun stuff are we going to do today?" said the kids with anticipation.  I was flattered that they looked forward to spending time with us.
     With no agenda for the earlier part of the day, we all slept in late.  We dillydallied every morning away, eating only two meals, brunch and early dinner every day.  We said yes to TV and X-Box.  I learned that playing Just Dance 3 with my daughter could be fun and calorie burning.  Surprisingly, the kids didn't want screen time for too long.

      We rode our bikes for miles and miles around the neighborhood and at Harkness and Rocky Neck State Parks for a change of scenery.  We walked the vacant beach, enjoying the breath-taking views of the windsurfed aqua waves, making family sneaker prints in the sand and picking up crab shells along the way.  The kids enjoyed staying up late to watch "special" movies with us; movies we parents enjoyed watching as kids over 20 years ago like Princess Bride and Twins.  It was like traveling with them to our past.  We had to explain some societal and technological differences.  We gathered with families who also opted for a stay-cation to have dinner together and play games.  The kids visited friends' homes while we adults sneaked in a round of nine-hole golf at the par three course.  As a novice golfer, I appreciated the deserted fairways which made for stress free tee offs.  We hosted the kids' friends, giving us a chance to catch up on some home and yard work.  The garden is now cleared and mulched, ready to soon bear new annual blooms and vegetable seeds.
     "I have anxiety about tomorrow," said my oldest before bed on Sunday night.
     "I know vacation's over.  But I'm ready to work again.  Aren't you?" I said.  "It beats getting bored of doing nothing after a while." 
     "I guess," he said, shrugging and shifting on his side to go to sleep.
     It was just the right amount of rest to be re-energized once again.  The best part?  No bags to unpack.

Family Mosh with Our PEEPs

Master of PEEPpets!

I saw the call for submissions on the Waterford Patch site two weeks ago. Someone submitted a very simple composition of three PEEPs. A momma, a poppa and a newborn peep peering out of a cracked egg. That sparked in me a desire to mention the fun contest to my kids and the wheels started turning in our heads. What clever scene could we design? What humorous take on a title of a movie, a song or situation could we weave the word PEEP in? This became a fun family topic at dinner at first. Five days went by and every now and then I peeked at the latest submissions. People were delighting in having the opportunity to let their craft work and creativity shine in the limelight.
      The truth is that I was never interested in winning necessarily. The prize was a $100 gift card to Michaels. I am not a hobbyist or crafter. I really don't frequent the store. The lure was just in the opportunity to express our family's sense of humor and fun. We talked again for a few days as the submission deadline drew near. Now the pressure was on. First, we had to acquire some PEEPS, in a variety of colors. Then we had to find time to set up the diorama and upload it, name it and officially submit it. The day finally arrived the night before the deadline.
      "Mommy, you promised we would buy some PEEPs for the contest," said my daughter after her dentist appointment. She also reminded me that the night before during her gymnastics team's egg hunt at the gym, she had received some unmarked tart candies which I had not allowed her to ingest. For years she had been responsible and cautious, automatically asking how she could substitute them for something we were certain were food allergy safe.
     "You know better than to even consider eating that, Sweetheart," I said.
     "I've had them before."
     "Oh yeah? How do you know? What are they?"
     "I think they're Gobstoppers."
     "You think?" She looked down in disappointment and tears started to well up.
     "Remember what you get to do at Halloween? I'll let you trade them for something better."
     This was a fair offer. So after her dentist appointment, we set out to pick up four packages of PEEPs. She was pleased to remember that they contained safe ingredients and they would also be fun to work with for the PEEP contest, which we had never done before. We settled on blue, green and yellow bunnies. They only had chicks in pink. I must admit that when I looked at the submissions that were already posted earlier in the day, I thought about whether the designer had put much thought or effort into them. Then there was the artistry of the photograph execution itself. I decided once we all agreed to stick with our first impulse to do something that had to do with rock bands that we would keep it simple and just get it in before the deadline.
     "What are some hit songs that Metallica produced?" I said to my husband after dinner. He started naming them.
     "In what song name could we fit in the word PEEP?"
     "Master of Puppets!"
     "Yes, perfect! Master of PEEPpets it is!"
     At this point it was beyond the kids' bedtimes so they were upstairs brushing their teeth and getting their pajamas on. I assured them I would beat the deadline and execute one of the ideas we had discussed. I went into action, digging up the Metallica rock band figure collectible set from the basement that I had given him two jobs ago for his office. I set up all the music equipment pieces. It was so adorable. There was the snare drum, the base drum, high hat cymbals, all the other cymbals and other drums. There was a mic stand and the four band members, whose limbs resembled lego pieces but the heads of long crazy hair and faces intricately mimicked the real band members. They even wore the black T-shirts and jeans and headbands they were known to wear in concert. I set aside the band member figures as the PEEPS would have to represent them. The drummer was the easiest to work with. I simply stuck the drumsticks through the pink chick's gut and positioned the sticks such that they seemed to be about to strike a set of cymbals and one of the drums. The pink chick also made the most sense to serve as drummer since it was already in a seated position, so I set it on top of an overturned martini shaker cap. Cool, it worked. Next were the bass, rhythm and solo guitarists. I broke off the front tips of toothpicks and balanced the guitars at the right angle. I then positioned the stand alone mic in front of the lead singer.
     For those Christians familiar with Metallica's Master of Puppets lyrics, it probably was not the best choice of songs to portray during Holy Week, but we were not trying to send any propaganda or other cryptic messages to the public. We simply wanted to place our PEEPs in a cool rock scene, particularly because we are a musical family. So, I used the rock song's bold Metallica artwork behind the black stage, making sure I covered the lower half of the rendering, which contained symbols which might be misconstrued as irreverent. We truly apologize to those who might have wrongly reached that conclusion.

Moshing in the PEEP pit!

     Daddy is most familiar with Metallica and their genre of music. He introduced the kids and I to some of their more popular hits and ballads and while we don't listen to the band frequently, we know he likes it and we appreciate the head banging rhythm in the car.  Otherwise, we're more of a classic rock, jazz, pop and alternative rock kind of family in general.  I personally prefer nouveau flamenco and new age music when I write, but I digress.  My point is that we borrowed Dad's Metallica set for the PEEPs contest and our only motivation was family fun!
     I took several shots from many angles.  After I was satisfied with the perspective of the shot, I posted our Master of PEEPpets submission.
     "It's done!" I declared and the kids couldn't help running back downstairs to have a look.
     "Ooooh, it looks really good Mommy!  They look so cute!" said my daughter.  We were all satisfied and went to sleep.  The next morning, my husband had a wonderful suggestion.
     "You know, if you really want to get crazy, you could use the rest of the PEEPs and put them in the audience so the band is playing for PEEPle."
     "You're right.  But I just wanted to get it in.  It's done."
     I decided to leave the display on the kitchen island for the kids to enjoy during breakfast.  But once they left for school and I walked the dog, there was the PEEP metal band, just posing with their instruments, ever so sweetly on the black stage.  Something was definitely missing.  There was no movement.  I could not hear the screeching guitars or feel rhythm, so I got back to work.  I did as my husband suggested.  I emptied the rest of the PEEPs packages and set them up as a crowd of fans.  And then, the Metallica band members called.
     "Come on!  Throw us in the PEEP pit!  We wanna mosh, Baby!"