We are in a habit of tuning in to English radio: BBC4 and LBC being the top contenders, through this amazing invention called 'internet radio', just before dozing off every night. Apologies to the US radio (especially in light of my last post), but ain't nothing like it here... And only a few nights ago I heard someone's monologue, which was really an epitaph to profound, or just simple and warm, family conversation over dish-washing after meals. The author suggested that the omni-presence of dishwashers tragically eliminated this so important family interaction. Of course, if one were to search for the culprits in reducing family time of contemporary families, dishwashers would not be high on anyone's list, but bear with me here.
Not quite sure what it is, but I certainly subscribe to the finding: there is something comforting, bonding, conversation-inducing in gathering together over a pile of dirty dishes which is being purified through an assembly line-like process of "dad's washing, mom's sorting things, I'm drying, grandpa's..." etc.
I can remember my 5-year-old self standing on a little stool next to my grandfather and grandmother, while my parents were in and out of the kitchen bringing things in, helping me wipe things dry, and generally wandering around. Grandpa had a very good system for washing the most dishes using the smallest amount of water. One bowl for washing, one for rinsing, c'est ca. Not out of concerns for environment, but rather for family budget which was stretched beyond imagination. Perhaps also because he was brought up in a culture of non-wasting, pretty common in the 1930's Poland. And while he was washing-economizing, he talked! And my grandmother talked, and my parents talked. The most interesting family stories, gossip, war memories of my grandparents, I heard to the bloop, swoosh, bloop sounds of dish-washing. I miss these times, just like I miss my wonderful grandparents. But I am glad about this special bond we made while cleaning our dishes. I am worried that my little Zofia will not have the opportunity to experience this.
I should probably say honestly - I am not planning to throw away my dishwasher. Too lazy, too comfort-loving. Amidst plenty other life-simplifiers (interesting how many of those are also time-wasters: computers, TV, all the stuff starting with i-...) where do we find time and energy to talk, profoundly or simply, to each other? What to do...., what to do.....
Imagine when a household had either so many chores it was the family's full time job, or some small army's full time job. I am reminded of a project you may have heard of that was on a few years ago; they set up a modern family to live only with the tools and sundries available to a family of a bygone era, I forget if it was 100 years or 200, but definitely before electricity was prevalent. The women had definite specific chores, and one of these was laundry. I was amazed by the amount of time these women had to spend on laundering all the family's clothes, constantly. Maybe the folk of that time wore their clothes longer between washings? Pretty brutal by our posh modern standards. Then we also have just rented a mesmerizing miniseries, Downton Abbey, which is a semi-fictitious English great home. They have a servant to do just about every specific chore, and discuss the class system within the servant ranks. it is fascinating; I highly recommend. Sorry to digress from your original comment Magda! We'll have to compare stories of our grandparents' kitchens... as neither of mine were like yours for different reasons. Cheers! -Ted
ReplyDelete