Random thoughts on dish washing

In our home we have a nightly rotation for washing the dishes. It starts with the oldest, the hubby, and then moves down according to age and then starts over every 4 days. This is not advanced math. Every 4 days it's your night to wash the dishes. However, it seems like this is sometimes a difficult concept for the male members of my household to grasp and they are experts at playing dumb. "I didn't know it was my night." "You didn't tell me it was my night, how was I suppose to know?" "I'm pretty sure I washed them just 2 nights ago." and so on and so on and so on. And then there's the exceptions to the rule such as if we eat out on someones night to wash dishes do they wash the dishes the next night or does that count as their night? This question has a different answer each time it's asked depending on whose night it was to wash the dishes. Also, if one or both of the girls come to dinner should they have to join the dish rotation? The boys say absolutely, the girls say guests don't have to wash dishes. Anyway, for some reason it often seems like the dishes don't get washed according to schedule and no one seems to be able to agree on who should wash them. Since I am apparently the family member who is bothered the most by a kitchen full of dirty dishes it seems like I am found washing LOTS of gross dishes more often than I would like to admit. This gives me time to ponder and reflect on this necessary chore. When I wash dishes I like my water HOT. As hot as I can stand it. This is wonderful in the winter time when my hands are always cold, but not so fun during the Arizona summers. Luckily there is an air conditioning vent that blows directly down on the kitchen sink. I also can not stand floaties in my water. If the water gets dirty I have to empty it out and start again. Hopefully Arizona never has to ration water, because dish washing would be one of the first things to be given up in my household. I don't mind washing cups, plates, bowls, or silverware but I don't like to wash pots and pans, especially if they have sat for any length of time. My hubby would choose to wash every pot in the house before he would agree to wash any type of silverware. You would think we could make this work to our advantage, but we haven't seemed to figure out how yet. I guess we don't understand the idea of teamwork. Speaking of teamwork, I seem to remember washing and/or drying the dishes with my brother a lot when I was growing up. It seems like the rule was if the dryer caught up with the washer the dryer got to stop and the washer had to do both jobs. Maybe that's just what my brother told me whenever he was the dryer. Actually, it seems like he spent more time snapping dish towels at me than drying dishes so he probably never did catch up. We didn't get a dishwasher until I was in high school because my dad always said he didn't need one. He already had 2 dishwashers, my brother and me. My kids think that joke is about as lame as I thought it was when he said it. We have a dishwasher, but it doesn't work and I can always think of things I want more than a new dishwasher. It seems to me that you work just as hard with a dishwasher rinsing all the dishes, loading the dishwasher, washing the stuff that can't go in the dishwasher or doesn't fit and then unloading the dishwasher and drying off all the stuff that's still wet. Maybe when all my kids leave home I'll feel differently and get one. That would really make them mad. A memory my Aunt Ruby used to like to share concerning me involved dish washing. She and my Grandpa were staying with my brother and I while my mom and dad were gone on a trip. She washed the dishes and neatly hung the dish cloth over the faucet to dry. I walked by about that time and told her, "That's not how we do it at our house." I took the cloth, walked back about 15 steps, wadded it up into a ball, and threw it into the sink. I then dusted my hands off and happily walked away. Washing lots of dishes at one time has led to the discovery of one of my greatest talents. I am an amazing dish stacker. I can make dish towers almost as high as the ceiling if the case need be. This one is a very modest tower, but represents some of my balancing skills.