When dish-pan hands become grace

When we first got married, Troy and I made a deal that I would do the cooking and he would do the dishes. Although he was better at doing the dishes, he definitely got the raw end of the deal. I am a very messy cook.

For twenty years, Troy did the dishes 99.9% of the time. He washed dishes in Minnesota, in Illinois, and he washed more in Colorado. He washed them in Barcelona; where we had no dishwasher and often had 17 people for small group on Thursday nights. Then, we made it a financial priority to buy a dishwasher. (In Spain, rental apartments rarely come with appliances.) That was a happy day.

Even with the dishwasher, Troy still took charge of the dishes, and washed everything that couldn’t go in the dishwasher. The kids pitched in as well, but Troy bore the brunt of it.

At the end of June, we moved into a new apartment with beautiful light, gorgeous original 1920 wood floors, huge living room, and a dining room big enough to hold more than our behemoth of table. The kitchen was smaller than our last, and it had no dishwasher.

For 20 years, I had been using our “agreement” as law. While I did other things, my husband stood in the kitchen and did dishes. For 20 years.

When we moved, we decided that wasn’t fair. To be honest, Troy still does more dishes than anyone else. The kids often do them, but when they are asked. I hope that they soon learn to take the initiative.

And I, the messy cook, have finally started to do dishes after 20 years. My system is different than Troy’s, but I am finding grace in the hot water and the bubbles and the spider plants on the window sill.

For 20 years, my husband has had dish-pan hands, and I have not.

I consider it all grace that my hands are a lot drier than they used to be.

More grace, more joy, more gratitude:

637. Good Earth tea.
638. Beautiful snow-fall.
639. A hubby who gives up free time to do things for me.
640. Eating well and exercising better over the past 2 weeks, and resulting pounds off.
641. Purging and organizing.
642. www.commonprayer.net
643. The Message.
644. 3 Gifts found in Christ today: Joy, despite a blustery day and a sleepy me. Faith, to pray for healing, comfort and peace of mind for a friend I know and one I haven't met. Contentment and satisfaction with that I have.
645. Looking forward to more gratitude.