Wash Me Throughly

The title of today’s missive is not a grammatical mistake.  It is actually a quote from the KJV of Psalm 51, “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”  The phrase came to mind when I was reflecting on the situation Lorna and I currently have regarding washing dishes. 

Our dishwasher gave up the ghost about a month ago.  My initial reaction was to get on it right away and buy a replacement.  This was somewhat out of character for me as I often don’t act proactively in getting things done.  However, I was ready and apparently willing to do so in this case.  Lorna had second thoughts about the desirability to take this action, precipitous or not.  This was in part because she was never pleased with the effectiveness of our dishwasher which we had purchased when we had the house built almost fifteen years ago.  It was a name brand (Maytag), but it never seemed to do a really good job.  We put it down to the water not being hot enough, which we had checked out, without success, or to the ineffectiveness of dishwasher soap these days for ecological reasons.  The dishes also became permanently cloudy over the years and all-in-all it was all-in-all dish-satisfying (sorry, I couldn’t resist) situation. I also can’t resist making a comment about seeing through a glass darkly. 

We had discussed the possibility of buying a new better dishwasher but hadn’t come to that dish-cision (the last one, I promise).  In any case, we decided (actually Lorna made the decision and I agreed as I wisely often do for the sake of marital bliss), that we would wash dishes the old-fashioned way for a while.  We have always (for five years) done this at the cottage because we do not have a dishwasher there (again, Lorna’s decision).  In any case it has turned out that it was the right decision (as Lorna’s often are) for a number of reasons.

First, it doesn’t take that long to ‘do’ the dishes for the two of us―about fifteen minutes once a day, usually after the evening meal.  Second, the results are much better and they are “throughly” clean.  Third, Lorna has always enjoyed the act of washing dishes (one of her interesting character traits) and I am quite happy to dry them so that works out well.  And last, and probably most important, we have some interesting discussions during this “quality” time together.  All in all, it is a very congenial and positive experience.  

The only downside that I have been able to come up with to date is that the dirty dishes do sit on the kitchen counter during the day.  However, this is not a big draw back for me as I am generally not bothered by a bit of clutter (as Lorna can attest whenever she passes my office). 

In any case, it raises the question about modern conveniences and what we have gained and what we have lost with their development.  It is a question I can consider “throughly” another time.

Blessings on your journey.