Empty dishwasher, thankful heart

Okay so hate is a strong word, but for anyone who knows anything about my daily routine, I absolutely loathe unloading the dishwasher. It is not so much the task itself, but the fact that it is just one of those household chores that wreaks havoc if not promptly attended to. In our tiny kitchen, any delay in unloading the dishwasher seems to quickly bring about cataclysmic disorder that results in a sink, table, and counters littered with dirty dishes and other miscellaneous items. Ugh! At the risk of sounding dramatic, that is just too much pressure to deal with at the beginning of another busy day! 😜

Today I got up extra early so that I could take a walk and run some errands before attending a morning yoga class. Since my clothes, mat, etc. were ready the night before, my outing was not too hectic, but I knew that I would have a substantial pile of work waiting for me when I returned home. After thanking my husband for feeding our little one breakfast and getting her ready for the day, I kissed him goodbye and turned to the tasks at hand. Ready to just get it out of the way, I opened the dishwasher to begin the dreaded clearing. 

Lo and behold, it was EMPTY! My husband had kindly taken the time to unload it, and it was absolutely ridiculous how happy it made me. Due to our current schedule this may now just happen occasionally, it reminds me of when my dear mother-in-law cleared the dishwasher almost every single day of my in-laws' visit, and how much I appreciated that. 

Although it might seem silly to gush about an unloaded dishwasher, I think the bigger lesson is how the helping hands of our loved ones can lighten our workload and lift our spirits. And that is indeed a wonderful thing to be grateful for 💗

Caption: The joys of an empty dishwasher in the morning- Yay! 😀

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This post is part of the gratitude practice I am developing. Curious? You can read all about it at ByChanceBuddhism!

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May all beings be happy!