Dish-Doing - An Analysis

I am taking a break from the dishes. It is 1:03 in the morning, and I am taking a break from the dishes. I studied for 3 hours, then went to the dishes to which I have faithfully applied myself for over an hour. And I am only half-way done. Why?

Why am I doing the dishes? I had a moment of recklessness. Some person's Mustang was parked too close to my driveway, when it should have been parked across and down the street. I was in a hurry, and had a moment of recklessness, but you couldn't tell by looking at the outside of the car. NOT A SCRATCH. We found out the owner of this Mustang had a history of car accidents. Many members of his family had quite a history of recklessness or accidents that were "out of their hands." Later, he bills us $872 for "internal damage." Like the good Christian people we are, we accepted the bill without arguement. But not without doubt. I think people should find better places to park their cars. At least he no longer parks it in front of our driveway. He's found someone else to blame "internal damage" on.

But I digress. (wow, that is so cliche it's funny) My parents looked at the bill, and decided it was my fault. Like the good daughter I am, I said, "yes it is my fault, I'm so sorry, I'll be careful for the rest of my life!" I then shrunk into my chair, and awaited the sentence of the judges. Like the good parents they are, they decided punishment was prudent. I should have been grounded from my car. But my mom was too lazy to drive me anywhere. I should have been grounded from my friends, TV, computer, PS2. But my mom didn't like the thought of having me around the house all day. So I got to do the dishes. For the rest of my existance in this house, I get to do the dishes at least 4 days a week. No other child has had a steady dish-doing job, but everytime my mom gets tired, she says "Noelle, go do the dishes." At 11:30 most of the time. When I'm doing my homework.

Why does it take me so long? Well, we have eight people to feed in our house. We have kids that leave frosting messes all over the counter. They paint the kitchen with watercolors, and then it's my job to clean it up. My parents leave dishes from the nights it's not my job "to soak", but then they "soak" just long enough that it's dried and caked on again. "Woops!" they say. It's my problem now. It's also my problem that my mom was too tired to do them the night before, so I've got a double load. It's my problem that my mom uses extra dishes for dinner. It's my problem that the dishes don't all fit in the dishwasher, so I have to wash the rest. It's my problem that we have leftovers that I need to put away. It's my problem that the kids like to dump whole sandwiches into the sink, and watch the soggy bread get all over my hands. It's my problem that my mom likes to put disposal stuff in the wrong sink, so I have to transfer it over to the other sink. But why should she care? It's my problem. Apparently.

It also takes me a long time because I usually try to do a good job. This entails spending 2 hours just trying to fix the absolute catastrophe my mom caused in the cupboard the last time she did the dishes. I don't know how she manages it. Doing the laundry, cooking dinner, (which are pretty much the only household jobs I have ever seen her do) and making the dishes harder for me! Someday I hope to be as good at housework as my mother.

I really do love my mother. Maybe I can blame it all on a chronic illness that I can pretend she has so that I actually want to help more often. Because I have an AP test tomorrow. And my mom had better darn well need the help I'm giving, because it is now 1:22 am and I still have to do the dishes.