Dishwasher drama

Simon and I play something I’ve started calling dishwasher roulette (at least in my head – in reality, I don’t think Simon knows we’re playing this game). Along with having an indicator light next to the word “clean” on the outside of our dishwasher, the other way you know the dishwasher has just run through a cleaning cycle is when you open it, you hear the door to the compartment that holds the cleaning tab audibly “pop” open. Because of our schedules, we’ve gotten into the habit of running the dishwasher at the end of our “parenting shift” leaving it so the other parent comes home to clean dishes in an unemptied dishwasher. It’s easy to ignore the clean dishes and avoid having to put them away until you have to open the dishwasher and hear that popping noise. Once it’s opened, it won’t “pop” again and then the other person knows you’ve open the dishwasher full of clean dishes but haven’t put them away. I personally feel guilty if I don’t put them away once I’ve heard that pop so I avoid opening the dishwasher unless I have to (ignorance is bliss) and thus avoid hearing the telltale pop (hense the dishwasher roulette – though not nearly so life-ending). Simon does not feel this same measure of guilt if his simply pulling the clean dishes out that he needs to use and shutting it again is any indication. Like a good little Dutch girl, I feel the guilt and curse that wretched popping sound when I hear it.

On a related note, has anyone else gone to put dishes in the dishwasher and found it full of clean dishes and after putting away the clean dishes realized that they accidentally put the aforementioned dirty dishes away with the clean ones? I thought that happened the last time I emptied the dishwasher and I sort of shrugged and thought, “Should I go through the cupboard and find those two dirty plates, they only had bread on them…” but then I saw the dirty dishes sitting on top of the coffee maker. [That sound you heard a couple seconds ago was my mother gasping – I assure you, she raised me better.]

And completely unrelated to the above… I heard a new Kid Rock song today (see below) called “Care” and I was reminded that I inexplicably like Kid Rock’s music (not to be confused with actually liking Kid Rock as a person).