Life Happens When You're Making Other Plans

This housewife job can be relentless. Every week, I can do the laundry and clean the house only to find that they somehow get dirty again. Some weeks feel like make a meal, clean up from a meal, make a phone call, do a load of laundry, clean a bathroom and then repeat as necessary. Repeat as necessary. Repeat. Repeat.

Then there are the days when God throws you a curve ball. I'm not sure if it's a good thing. I mean, it's a new challenge and the relentlessness IS interrupted, I suppose one could figure, but usually it's a surprise that you wish would have never happened. I woke to a full dishwasher load of dishes that didn't wash over night. I had a full to do list that day and none of it involved being home to wait for a repair person.

My day also didn't include time in it for hand washing an entire dishwasher load of dishes. I was pissed off and huffed around making Young One's lunch and unloading the dirty dishes while calling the repair man.

Then, it dawned on me. This day was a gift. I'm trying to flip my negativity when things like this happen to acceptance and turning lemons into lemonade, if you will. So what that I wouldn't run the long list of errands that I had to do. They could all wait. I'd been asking for a chance to breathe a bit, so here was my opportunity.

Delightful Dave the Dishwasher Man (and that is his title) arrived long after I had completed washing the dishes. I had just finished stirring up a bucket of my Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent, while watching Martha Stewart's show on my teeny tiny kitchen TV. You can see her peering approvingly into the undiluted bucket of suds in the picture below. I'd never watched her show before and, surprisingly, she only made me feel minutely inadequate, although the entire show was devoted to chefs preparing amazing food, so she wasn't in the spotlight much. At one point, she was corrected by one of the chefs and she didn't seem to like that one bit. I however, would have missed this precious moment if the dishwasher hadn't broken. It was worth it just to see Martha bristle at the correction. I'm rambling again, sorry.

Dishwasher Dave, like most people who hear about my homemade cleaning supplies, was both amazed and skeptical that something so simple to make would work. "They worked for our ancestors," I said with a smile. He left with the recipe.

Delightful Dave and I got into a conversation about small businesses. I always go for a Mom and Pop business if I can. Restaurant chains rarely see my shadow. Small stores and little entrepreneurs get most of our precious dollars. They also get my respect and awe. Having been a small business owner myself, I know what they're up against and the unbelievable amount of work you must put into each day (usually 24/7). This economy hasn't been good to the big guys. My hope is that they little ones will survive it as the biggies fall because of their greed.

We chatted back and forth about how great small businesses are. He speaks fast, working as we talk. He's got a long list of repairs to see today, mostly repeat customers he proudly states. That speaks highly of his integrity, abilities, and fair prices. He, of course, is able to make the dishwasher work with the push of a button. He checks it out thoroughly does an entire diagnostic and charges me a small fee. He wants my repeat business and assured me that if the dishwasher acts up again, that I won't have to repay the service call fee I paid then.

My experience with a nationwide store with a huge service department didn't go this smoothly nor did it cost so little. All it did was line the pockets of the big business machine. I won't ever do it again.

The day didn't go as I planned it, but I had an opportunity to meet someone who is proud of his work and good at his craft. I got a chance to take a breather and visited with a friend and baked cookies. It was a good day. I accomplished what was meant to be done that day. If the dishwasher hadn't broken, I would have never taken this time.

Today, life happened and for once, I wasn't busy making other plans.

In Gratitude:

• For having a dishwasher. Heck, for having dishes to put in the dishwasher and food to make them dirty. So many are without. I should always be mindful of that.
• For having a husband that works so hard to make sure we are well provided for. For his wonderful company (that is making money and has no debt, thank you Jesus!)
• For the chance to step back from life just for a bit.