How do you think about dishes?

"Hand me the tea bags, would you, dear?" Sweetie was making his iced tea.

He is very meticulous about it, timing the brewing just right, covering the kitchen counter with the perfect amount of saccharine as he empties the packets into his glass. Pours a small amount of tea in to dissolve the powder.

Then, yanking open the drawer with the cutlery, he grabs whatever his hand first reaches, be it spoon, fork, knife, plastic or metal, doesn't matter, stirs away, tosses the utensil in the sink. He sips, adds ice, more tea, a bit of water, and yanks open the drawer again. The second utensil follows the first into the otherwise empty sink.

Watching him do this got me to thinking about how we both think differently about dishes. I'm the one who goes behind him, usually while he is still standing at the sink taking his first gulp, and fishes the utensils out of the sink to put in the dishwasher. Why does he have to use two different implements, where I would only use one? Obviously, because I am the one who has to clean them.

It doesn't matter how many dishes you dirty, if you are leaving them to someone else to deal with. I've watched for a while now, and he does the same with every kitchen endeavor. He is very careful how many of his tools he pulls out when working on his things, because he has to put them away. When someone else is doing the cleaning, it doesn't occur to him to be careful.

Yes, I wipe up the spilled saccharine, too. And toss the packets from where he threw them on the otherwise clean counter.

How do you think about dishes? Or anything else you don't have to clean, for that matter?


Today is

Armed Forces Day, Great Britain

Descendants Day

Festival of the Tarasque, Tarascon, France

"Happy Birthday to You" Day

Independence Day, Djibouti

Initium Aestatis -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of summer festival)

Martyrdom of Joseph & Hyrum Smith -- Mormon

Mixed Races Day, Brazil

National Orange Blosssom Day

Seven Sleepers Day (Siebenschläfertag), Germany

St. Ladislaus' Day

St. Laszlo's Day (patron of Hungary)

Sun Glasses Day


Birthdays Today:

Gabi Wilson, 1997
Madylin Sweeten, 1991
Ed Westwick, 1987
Drake Bell, 1986
Tobey Maguire, 1975
Julia Duffy, 1951
James Daughton, 1950
H. Ross Perot, 1930
Bob "Captain Kangaroo" Keeshan, 1927
Helen Keller, 1880


Today in History:

General James Wolfe begins the siege of Quebec, 1759
Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and his brother Hyrum Smith, are murdered by a mob at the Carthage, Illinois jail, 1844
George Dixon becomes the first black world boxing champion in any weight class, while also being the first ever Canadian-born boxing champion, 1890
The first solo circumnavigation of the globe is completed by Joshua Slocum from Briar Island, Nova Scotia, 1898
Sailors start a mutiny aboard the Russian Battleship Potemkin, denouncing the crimes of autocracy, demanding liberty and an end to war, 1905
Capt. Lowell H. Smith and Lt. John P. Richter perform the first ever aerial refueling in a DH-4B biplane, 1923
The United States decides to send troops to fight in the Korean War, 1950
The world's first nuclear power station opens in Obninsk, near Moscow, 1954
The world's first ATM is installed in Enfield, London, 1967
The President of Uruguay dissolves Parliament and heads a coup d'état, 1973
U.S president Richard Nixon visits the U.S.S.R., 1974
France grants independence to Djibouti, 1977
Slovenia, after declaring independence two days before, is invaded by Yugoslav troops, tanks, and aircraft, starting the Ten-Day War, 1991