Blog - nya Nemot

THE JOY OF WASHING DISHES

I was talking idly with my sister in her room. Her two year old daughter playing around with our purses and chatted animatedly to herself.
We were discussing this and that, and then we arrived at the subject : house chores.

“I prefer washing, washing clothes, or washing dishes. I love playing around with a lot of water. Washing dishes is definitely my favorite,” I spoke without thinking.

“Yes, it is. And you definitely enjoy doing it. You always took time doing it, and you were always singing all the while. Seemed like you were really absorbed in it,” she blurted out.

Did I? I know I prefer washing dishes to other chores, but didn’t realized that I liked it so much, to the point of making other people notice it.

But I do, I always do since as long as I can remember.

Our house was always full of people, and there were always plenty of dishes to wash.
I have four sisters, with our parents, it makes 6. Sometimes we have servant around, but not always.
When there’s no one to help around, we share chores. My mom and dad did the washing, by hand. We helped putting them in line.
In the afternoon, we swept the house, ironed the clothes, and washed the dishes.
I ironed half the clothes, my sister he other half. We would take turn in doing the other tasks.
If I washed dishes, she swept, or the other way around. But most of the time I chose washing the dishes.

We don’t wash dishes in the sink. We have a small clearing at the back of the house with two taps running well water by the help of a small jet pump.
Under the taps, 2 large plastic pails.

Washing the dishes was almost like a ritual.
I would make a call around the house, rounding everything up. With three under-aged children, my sister and myself, there are dirty utensils everywhere, glasses, small plates.
After gathering everything up, I would collected it and put it on the clearing.

I collected the glass on one end, the plates and cook-wares on the other.
I made sure any leftovers and debris are collected in the bin, and then I watered the plates to remove dried or caked dirt.
And then I would stack plates and bowls by size, big ones at the bottom.

Washing dishes take steps. I don’t wash them in random order.
Glasses first, then bowls, plates, spoons, forks and knives.
Cook-wares and big sized utensils last, especially if they’re super dirty and with lots of soot from cooking.
When everything is clean and covered with soap, I would take extra care in watering each and every one of them, and then immersing them in a pail full of clean water brimming to the sides.
I wiped them underwater, removing any remained soap and brushed them with my bare hand till everything is squeaky clean.
Then I would strain them in another pail.
Glasses first, I put them up-ended to let remaining water run down the strainer.
Small bowls, big bowls, plates, all were up-ended. Spoons, forks and knives were next, so that they’re easy to find if we need some clean ones. Next were large cook-wares.

Dishes done, I would clean the clearing with remaining water in the big pail.
Slosh…, slosh… out went the water.

When the dishes were extremely plenty, it could take half an hour to finish them all because I took extra care. I made sure every surface is squeaky clean, fragrant, no residue of bad smelling fish or traces of oil.
And I was always singing or humming a song of two.
When I was washing dishes, I was free and wandering wherever I like.
Now that I think of it, it really gave me a sense of serenity and peace.
That’s why I love doing it in mid mornings or afternoons, when the sun is warm and everything seemed idyllic.
Blaring sun and rain are nuisances. I didn’t like doing it at night either because the darkness gives a sense of urgency. I barely enjoyed it that way.

I don’t wash that much anymore now I’m living alone. There is a large sink at my boarding house but it always smells of wet napkins. It makes me nauseated.
Sometimes I wash dishes at my boyfriend’s house. The sink is nice and clean, though it’s really different from the clearing at the back of my house.
Next time I go home, I’ll make sure I wash plenty of dishes.

posted by Nemot @ 7:58 PM