The therapy of the doing the dishes
Have you never noticed how doing the dishes can be quite cathartic? It’s a therapy where you don’t actually have to think too much about anything. A space to reflect and sort out our wonky world. Things are in a much better place once the last shiny dish has been triumphantly put away.
But sometimes there is a stinker of a pot which needs a bit of elbow grease and a stubborn will to make it gleaming again. Something stayed on the heat just a little longer than it should have and a simple wipe and a fleeting promise is not going to sort it out. A little something extra is required. Maybe a special product of a brand that cannot be named here. And if that doesn’t quite do the trick, then the last desperate measure is this. You leave it soaking overnight. This is pretty hard core and means that the pot/pan/utensil is on its last warning.
I thought about all this as I slushed around the night. My hands gradually thawing in the satisfying swish of the water. There are quirks and problems in our lives that are very much like grubby dishes. Some are mundane and easily dealt with. You’ve seen it all before, done it all before and it’s as easy as an afternoon doze on a sunny afternoon with a refreshing beverage to hand.
Other problems are a little more gruesome. They are trickier and require more brain power and more energy. You get there, but the oomph required is substantially more.
Then there are the problems that need to be soaked while you sleep. These require a little more thought; a bit more cogitation and a coming back to them with fresh eyes in the morning. The trick is knowing which problem requires which treatment.