Wednesday, September 5, 2007

I'm Just Too Dirty

I've documented before that I live at home with my parents, 2 sisters, and Little Boy Blue. I don't mind since the monthly rent is affordable at the steep rate of free, a good old fashioned meal is easy to come by, and for the fact that I actually enjoy being with my family. Living at home also brings something else:

Chores.

For the most part, this hasn't been a huge issue. I take care of my room and the bathroom, I do my own laundry, and I try to clean up after I use the kitchen. I use the rinse-and-let-the-dishwasher-take-care-of-the-rest approach. If I make a sandwich, there will be a knife with a little peanut butter residue and a plate with a few crumbs in the dishwasher. At the end of the day, the dishwasher is turned on and I unload it in the morning. It's pretty routine. I've been doing it since I moved home.

Mama Mia has differing views. Not only was my childhood filled with phrases such as, "Shut the fridge, you are letting all the cold out!"and "I trust you...it's your friends that bother me," but she always ended the evening meal by saying, "Okay [fill in the blank with one of us lucky children], it's your turn for dishes. Remember, "hot, soapy water." In fact, much like a seashell, when I put a cocoa mug up to my ear, I can hear faint instructions on how to properly wash dinnerware. Each night we would fill the sink up with - you guessed it - "hot, soapy water" to thoroughly clean the dishes in addition to running them through the dishwasher.

That's washing dishes twice!

So this weekend I was gone. I didn't unload the clean dishes or load any semi-rinsed utensils. Tuesday morning I opened the dishwasher. It was full but the sure tell sign of cleanliness indicated by little water puddles on the tops of glasses was missing. I pulled a sample of 10 different knives, forks, and spoons. All looked clean. I ran my finger across a plate. No dried food there either. I looked at the glasses. While they seemed clean, I was confused by the lack of puddles. Not wanting to fall short of my duty, I unloaded. At about 4:45, Mama Mia called me at the office.

Did you unload?
Yeah, why? They were clean weren't they?
No. I didn't run the dishwasher because there was room for breakfast bowls. (the ever practical Mama I love.)
But they all looked clean.
That's because I washed the dishes.
Mom...this is why it's a good thing I don't completely clean the dishes. It's an indication for me if I need to unload or not.
No. I don't like it when you do the dishes. You leave too much food and our dishwasher isn't that powerful.
So you are saying I shouldn't do dishes anymore. Okay. If that's how you feel...

Now I just have to figure out if there is something I can do when I clean the bathroom that bugs her...

18 comments:

Rima said...

I thought my mom was OCD! In our old house there was a forest in our backyard and we used to have to rake the leaves out.

But your mom might have her beat.

Mama Mia said...

Oh, Charlotta! I didn't know I was that bad! You can do dishes anytime and anyway! And still be one of my favorite daughters!

Anonymous said...

Try asking your mom if you should wash clothes by hand and then run the washing machine. Maybe she'll start doing your laundry, too.

Charlotta-love said...

Mama Mia...ONE of your favorite daughters? Haven't we had this discussion? You can drop the "one of my". "Favorite" is so much easier to say. :o) If it bothers the "other siblings", they can write a blog about it. ...oh wait! They don't have blogs. I control the blogosphere. Bwuahahaha...

*ahem

Mama Mia said...

Okay, so you are my favorite OLDEST daughter!! Better? :)

Coordination Queen said...

It sure makes it easy that I'm the only one who runs the dishwasher. Then I know for sure if they are clean or not. I did however teach my engineer of a husband how to run the dishwasher last week, so I might need to be on the lookout now. :)

Charlotta-love said...

Rima: my mom isn't too bad. Well, in certain areas anyway. (actually she's pretty cool.)

Joe: LOL. I might just have to give that a try.

Queen: you got your husband to run the dishwasher. Congratulations!

Mama Mia: My favorite oldest daughter? That's totally LONGER. Just shorten it to "favorite".

TUG said...

As I was reading this I couldn't believe that you wrote it since I knew that your Saintly Mother reads this blog.

I have also experienced this phenomenon with my parents, but you just have to house train them a bit.

Mine grew up in the depression, I know your mother is still very young.

Anonymous said...

Oh, you are a hoot! By any chance is your family catholic and Italian? They certainly would blend with mine.

poefusion said...

Your story was priceless. I enjoyed reading this post today. Moms? Can't live with them, can't live without them. Have a good day.

Michelle

Charlotta-love said...

Thom: my mom and I actually discussed this post and the comments. She is a saint...especially for putting up with me. :o)

Ang: Catholic and Italian? Nope. Even better! Mormon and Southern!

Michelle: thanks for stopping by. I love 3WW. I meet so many neat bloggers!

Shelby said...

Since I AM a mom... enjoyed your post.. :)

Mary Mitchell said...

Will you please come wash my dishes? I don't care how you wash them; you can wash them with bottled water before running them through the dishwasher if you'd like. I'll pay you too. -SM

Gay said...

Great post.

And loved your 3WW.

robkroese said...

Why does she bother with the dishwasher?! I run the really dirty stuff under the tap, but that's it.

Unknown said...

You have to WASH THE DISHES before WASHING THE DISHES??? My word that is just annoying. Terribly annoying.

Note to self: Do not invite Charlotte's mom over for dinner.

Scribbit said...

I never understood rinsing the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher--it's pointless it would seem :)

Kelly said...

This CRACKS ME UP!!!!!!!!! My mom is the same way!