Several weeks ago, I found myself rummaging under the kitchen sink for dish gloves. A few dishes wouldn’t fit in the dishwasher and needed to be washed by hand. My skin had begun to burn under the scalding water, thus my rummaging to find something to save my skin! Score, found them! I hadn’t used these dish gloves in quite some time; they had become a forgotten item under the sink. What I thought would be a simple task of washing a few dishes instead became a flood of memories. Memories that made me smile and my heart hurt a little bit for the time that has passed. Have you encountered that before? An item stirring up a walk down memory lane.
I remembered where dish gloves were used everyday…that would be at my grandmother’s house, Grannie Bea. She has no dishwasher, only her hands. What I also remembered was it wasn’t just her hands that washed dishes, my grandfather often put on those bright yellow dish gloves and cleaned up the kitchen too. I remember him telling Grannie Bea, “you cooked, I’ll clean up”. They had a true partnership. She worked alongside him at their gas station/general store they owned and he helped with chores around the house. I’d never thought much about this model in marriage or partnership before, but now that I’m older and I consider their generation, it’s probably not so normal that my grandfather chipped in around the house with chores. It was probably not so normal that my grandmother worked outside the home. And then I thought about the example they set for my mom and my aunt and also for my sister and me.
I can remember putting on those bright yellow dish gloves when I was old enough and took a turn at washing dishes after a wonderful meal had been prepared by my grandmother. Who knew valuable life lessons could be taught by such a simple item such as dish gloves? We all play a part in our families. In order to thrive and function well means we take turns, pick up the slack or let another family member or friend chip in so it can all get done.
How do you tag team with your family to get all the things done in your home?