Someone has to do the dishes

When dishes were fun...

Very few people like to do dishes. I say "very few" rather than "nobody" because I have a friend who actually enjoys doing dishes. But, we can't have her over for dinner every night with the hope that she'll volunteer to do dishes afterwards, which means that someone in our family has to do dishes. We do not have a dishwasher because there isn't a place for one in our kitchen, so, Luisa and I share the dish burden. 

I know what you're thinking, "That's why you had kids!" and that is a good point but for a long time, we didn't trust either of them to do the dishes. When Zeca did dishes, it was like she rinsed them in cold water while wearing a blindfold and when Miguel did dishes, it was like there had been a tsunami in the sink and we had to wear waders to enter the kitchen. Over time, however, both have gotten better at it and Miguel is probably the most thorough dishwasher in this house. So, when Luisa and I are busy/tired/bitter, we occasionally ask him to do the dishes. 

Recently, on such a day, I asked him to do the dishes and he sighed heavily as he headed to the sink and said, "I wish we were cavemen because we'd have fewer responsibilities." 

Now, I will admit that most of my knowledge of cavemen comes from faithfully watching episodes of Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels...

...but I'm fairly certain that regular cavemen, those without teen angels and a tricked out van, had it pretty rough. My guess is that they cared less about spotless bistro glasses and more about making fire, hunting for food, and avoiding predators. I mentioned this to Miguel and he grumbled a little but was not convinced until I said, "They didn't have WiFi or memes!" 

That did the trick. Suddenly, dishes didn't seem so bad. I'm pretty sure none of us are up for that caveman life. I could live without WiFi but I seriously doubt they had coffee and espresso. If I can't hunt and gather coffee beans, then I'll pass on cave life, even if it means I have to do the dishes.