Do the dishes

This is a really strange title, as some of you may be thinking. Doing the dishes? Really? For example: “Euan, there is nothing revelatory or mystical about washing dishes." To which I reply, you are right! Washing dishes is a complete drag and there is nothing sexy about it. There is a lesson to be learnt though.

This last week has been incredibly difficult because I have been battling cold and flu symptoms as well as a nasty cough. Going from feeling well to unwell in a couple of days is never a pleasant experience, to be honest. I’ve felt as if my sleep has been disrupted, my productivity at work suffered and family time also took a knock so, yes, it is never pleasant. I am doing a lot better now, however, the struggle against the cough seems to be as tough as trying to figure out what is happening with the food security in our beloved country. Seriously, mara what are the owners of some of these Spaza shops thinking? Pills inside packets of chips? Poisoning? Not cool, at all. I do hope a resolution comes to deal with all of it.

Also, as I’m doing this final edit I’ve seen the game between South Africa and Wales tonight and what a beauty. There were a few technical errors and mishaps. I think ultimately a very stunning result though #bombsquad! Perhaps I should make the rest of this issue about the post-match breakdown? No? Nevermind. I digress though…

Despite the latest struggles with my health, having to self-medicate, make use of a nebuliser (which I have not done in many years), spending less time with my daughter and my wife, and consequently being restricted from travel to hang out with friends, I have had the opportunity to read through some of my old newsletter issues. One such happened to be called “Washing dishes." The message from the post was centred around the idea of how, as a kid, I abhorred having to do the dishes or any other chore for that matter. I contemplated the sense of punishment I experienced, and the perception that children from coloured households endured a disproportionately high burden of chores compared to other kids worldwide. I don’t think this is true, though. No matter where you are in the world, as a kid you would have had to do chores; more specifically, you would have had to wash dishes.

I re-read this particular issue a few times and chuckled at the poor quality of my writing then (not that it has vastly improved now)… when I got to the last paragraph at the end of the last re-read it turns out I emphasized the importance of doing the dishes, metaphorically that is. There are countless benefits to washing actual dishes in one’s home, such as having clean and germ-free plates as well as cups. ( and in my case, of course, a very happy mother as well at the time). More than that, however, are the benefits of satisfaction, mindfulness, cleanliness, feeling less stressed and being more in control. Taking the time and energy to commit to gathing all the dirty items in your “kitchen” and taking them from a soiled state to being spotless, it’s unlike anything else.

Word of advice to my fellow chore-haters: “Do the dishes”!

Euan