Nails snails
This kid decided that he could make himself useful by washing the dishes every night after dinner. He also empties the dishwasher in the morning. In fact, he just walked in from some morning outing and is putting dishes away as I write this.
I try not to watch. It's not that he doesn't do a good job. No, he is quite thorough, he takes instruction, and even wipes down the counters and empties those little strainers in the sink that collect all the debris which is not supposed to go down the drain. Plus, he can deal with the top rack of the dishwasher, which has fallen apart and easily comes off its tracks. The entire rack falls off, and the little plastic wheels go skittering around the kitchen or into the farthest reaches of the dishwasher. Being able to deal with it thus entails a gentle touch when handling the rack, as well as the dexterity and patience to reassemble it when it inevitably comes off the tracks anyway. It's mostly an emotional skill, and he has it in spades.
And yet, I can't bear to watch him because he moves l like a snail. Watching him pick up one fork, wash it, then pick up the next fork, then a plate, and so forth is excruciating for me, something like hearing nails on a chalkboard. He is so slow and meditative, I can't stand it! I want to jump in, grab an entire handful of forks and show him how you can do them all at once.
He's always been like this with physical labor, going into a sort of meditative trance. When he and T split up the raking, T was done with his half in about 15 minutes. An hour and a half later, this kid would be done. Of course, you could easily distinguish the two halves since one side had miscellaneous leaves scattered everywhere and the other looked like a golf course green.
Years ago, he was preparing dinner and I walked in to see him tearing leaves of of a cabbage and slicing each one up individually. That time I did grab the knife and show him how one chop with a big knife would cut many leaves. But usually I just look the other way and leave him to his own devices.
Though I have now become quite accustomed to what initially felt like being waited on hand and foot, now that he is taking off for six weeks, I know that I'll miss not only him but also all that dishwashing, however long it took him to get it done.
Having to do all those chores myself I think I would be grateful to have someone else do it no matter how long it took them! Fabulous picture to accompany your interesting narrative
July 26th, 2021
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