My dishwasher is broken and I am terribly put out by it. How sobering to discover how dependent I have become. I\u2019ve been doing dishes by hand and it is drudgery, plain and simple. So, while mindlessly gazing through the window that sits above the sink, my thoughts trample aimlessly and recall a once beloved title among women: Domestic Goddess.<\/p>\n
What happened to all of the domestic goddesses? Realizing this is a female term for females who have to toot their own luxuriating horn, it still describes excellently what used to be honored, but is now lost.<\/p>\n
Do our daughters know how to be domestic goddesses? That used to be the important thing in every household: Cleaning, Mending, Washing\u2026Householding. I think most of us know a little something, and we could probably manage if we absolutely had to, but face it\u2014it is no longer an art like it used to be.<\/p>\n
Our world today caters to instant gratification. We demand shortcuts, even of our shortcuts. I insisted on a delay feature on my new dishwasher. I never use the delay feature, but now I know I can set the timer and the machine will start when I\u2019m not even there. Holy Cow! Since my memory is going, this is pure luxury.<\/p>\n
Actually, what am I talking about? In the morning, when I begin to unload the dishwasher, but realize I forgot to run it the night before, I say a little prayer of thanks, because I don\u2019t have to unload just yet. I can hit the button, turn, and hit the road. I\u2019m free!<\/p>\n
Maybe domestic goddessing comes in a robot?<\/p>\n
\u201cDoing dishes has to be the worst job, ever,\u201d says my son as he passes me at the sink. \u201cThanks, dear, for your offer to help\u201d. Having three college age children at home for the summer puts a real dip in the kitchen area. I am always buying groceries, I am always doing dishes (filling and emptying the dishwasher\u2026and now doing them by hand!), I am always getting after them to move their junk from my space. And yes, I still feel this way after asking them to do their share (notice, I didn\u2019t say FAIR share). Actually, they are more or less willing to help around the house, but I\u2019m in a complaining mood right now. You know what really gets me is they keep telling me there\u2019s no food in the house. \u201dTry cooking something, dear. But don\u2019t dirty any dishes.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is quickly spiraling into a gaping wound. What I started off saying was we just rely too heavily on convenience. My children invented it. Their philosophy is \u201cIf it\u2019s broken, mom will fix it, she likes doing that kind of crap.\u201d The reality is that I\u2019m just as lazy as they are. I like convenience. Even more so, because I remember the old ways, and it\u2019s tough going backwards.<\/p>\n
So, here are some questions I need answers to:<\/p>\n
Our house probably sounds like a pigsty, with mother pig rooting around helplessly. Fine, maybe it is, but I still have my standards.<\/p>\n
More questions:<\/p>\n
Have other domestic goddesses turned in their mops only to pick up their interests providing little time for the mundane? What would Susa Young Gates say, I wonder. She was the domestic goddess of all other goddesses in her day. She had the perfect house, a houseful of kids, and was busier then than even most of us are today (check out her bio on this site\u2014she was amazing!).<\/p>\n
Oh, woe, is me. And curse my little dishpan hands and pruney fingers!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My dishwasher is broken and I am terribly put out by it. How sobering to discover how dependent I have become. I\u2019ve been doing dishes by hand and it is drudgery, plain and simple. So, while mindlessly gazing through the window that sits above the sink, my thoughts trample aimlessly and recall a once beloved […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[425,476],"tags":[456,457],"class_list":["post-2846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","category-womanhood","tag-domestic","tag-housework"],"yoast_head":"\n