When I decided to start an online magazine with my partner, Val Curtis, I knew it was going to affect my children and my husband. My time was already stretched. How was I going to do all I had to do, plus put together a completely new magazine?
Day by day, we’re learning to handle my new schedule. My husband has been very supportive of my dream. Dishes in the sink? Clothes not folded? No problem, he’s been only too happy to lend a hand. Even though he has a long day and a longer commute himself.
I really appreciate that he knows how important this is to me and is showing me with his actions not just words that I have his support.
Even the kids have been learning to pitch in and help out. I was so proud of them for cleaning out the sun porch the other day and keeping the playroom clean. We’re all adjusting to my new role as a work-at-home mom.
Well, almost all of us. One member of the family is not at all happy and making their feelings very well known.
My dishwasher.
This silly appliance has been trouble since the day we bought it. But oddly enough once I started to write this weekly blog, the dishwasher and I had come to an agreement of sorts. I would write about it, and it would behave.
It happily cleaned the dishes and never gave me another problem… until I started the magazine.
I was only about a month into the project when Damien started pulling its old tricks. But I really thought the last repair appointment had solved the problem for good.
It seems that since the dishwasher was a very new model the installers were unfamiliar with it. Apparently there was a wire that needed to be cut and reattached. The fact that this was not done was causing the machine to work intermittently. We were not even the only family with this problem, there were several possessed appliances out there.
The Sears repairman fixed the wires and the machine was cured. Amen. I guess my mother was right, dishwashers can’t really be possessed.
Ha!
Imagine my surprise when Joe announced on Tuesday that Damien was up to his old tricks again.
I guess my mom was wrong, appliances really can be possessed. And this one is not just possessed, it’s demonic.
Like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, it won’t be ignored.
No problem. We are the humans, no appliance can really get the better of us. We simply called the repairman. We know the number by heart now. We scheduled an appointment and stocked up on paper plates. No big deal.
But Damien must be more than a little mad, because Joe and I think the possession has spread. It might be just a coincidence but the repair appointment had to be canceled on Friday because the repairman got sick.
Is it possible the dishwasher’s reach is bigger than we thought?
What is it trying to tell me?
Maybe the dishwasher is just acting out what the rest of the family has been feeling. Though we all have been getting used to my new schedule, the truth is things are different. My attention is split now more than it’s ever been.
My temper has been a bit shorter now. Trying to be all things to all people is impossible. Just ask any mom. But like most mothers what really suffers isn’t the kids or the house. The children may feel a bit put out, but a family soon starts to adjust. The house may look like a bomb hit it, but even the chores get done eventually. What usually suffers the most when mom takes on a new project, is mom.
Maybe the dishwasher is teaching me an important lesson. When the load gets too heavy, the best thing to do is stop.
Swimming with the kids or taking a walk with my husband is just as important as anything else I have on my “to-do” list.
I also have to put myself on the top of my “things to get done” list. Going to the doctor or dentist only when something is wrong isn’t the best way to manage my health.
As my family and I enter into the this new zone, I have to take the lessons I’ve learned from my silly appliance and put it to work. I won’t be good to my family, my partner, or myself if I don’t learn to balance the load. To not put too much in the machine at once. And when I’m really feeling completely overwhelmed, stop.
To think I’ve learned all this from one very possessed dishwasher.
Only one week left until the launch of Bonbon Break. My partner, Val Curtis and I can’t wait to share something we are very proud of. If you have been having problems subscribing to our newsletter, no worries, you can easily subscribe to it from our Facebook Fan page http://facebook.com/bonbonbreak You can also follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/bonbonbreak. Thank you so much for all the support. I can’t wait until we can all take a Bonbon Break together.
one mom's attempt to find humor in the chaos
Much thanks to Joseph Radigan, who besides being a great husband and father, also uses his talents to gently and ever so tactfully edit my blog. Joe is a business editor at Thomson Reuters in NY.
And here…we…go!
Thanks dear partner!
I hope that since you got the message, Damien will start to behave properly again. 🙂
That crazy dishwasher of yours! It made me laugh, because I have a post scheduled for later this month that mentions the fact that we don’t call on repairmen the way our mothers used to. Damien is making a liar out of me!
Try to relax.. and give yourself a Bon Bon break! It will be wonderful. Just breathe.
I’m looking forward to your project. I am all subscribed up, and stalk, um I mean following… in every way possible. 😉
You are such a great friend, thanks for all the support!! Oddly we never called a repairman when we were growing up, we had my dad!! xoxo
Congratulations on your upcoming launch.
Since reading your blog, my dishwasher has started to go wonky. A spring broke in the door and my hubby said it opens a lot easier. So I tried it and yeah, the door thuds down and the whole dishwaher moves a bit forward. Not so EASY. I’m waiting for something else to break on it before I call the repair man, since she’s outta warranty.
Set a pair of wire cutters above it and see if that helps. Used to work for my computer. 🙂
Yikes!!! Sorry that my possessed appliance has such a big reach! Lol!!
Who would have thought you could learn such wise lessons from a household appliance?!
I suppose it just takes time to make this transition, and you have to patiently wait for everyone to find his or hers balance.
I have to say I do enjoy looking for lessons in the funniest places, and trying to find the lesson through the dishwasher has been the harder one!! Thanks for your support!
Love the lessons your “dishwasher” is teaching you. And I’m so excited about your new venture with Val!
Thanks so much my dear, dear, friend!
Appliances keep it real. Good Luck to you and Val! Can’t wait for a Bonbon Break!
You are so right Tiffany! Thanks for you support!!! It means the world to Val and I!
I think your dishwasher is very wise… 😉 It is hard for moms to take care of themselves–we tend to put everyone else first. Good for you for setting priorities.
It’s not easy at all to set priorities for me, little by little I’m learning, with the help of all of you great ladies!
Glad you’re learning something from your dishwasher. Perhaps it senses that you need a bit of mommy time as well.
Thanks so much Anne!
Thats awsome! love it! When my new dishwasher is hooked up, ill make sure and schedule plenty of family time, so it wont feel the need to act posessed.. LOL
I’m glad you can learn from our misfortune!! LOL! You have to watch those crazy dishwashers, good luck!
So funny, that darn dishwasher really does have a mind of its own. Can’t wait for the magazine!
Thanks so much Katherine, your support has always meant the world to me!
Such perspective to take lessons from your demented dishwasher and then share them with us. Maybe that’s the reason I don’t have a dishwasher! LOL
HUGS!
No dishwasher?!! Not even in the new house! I knew you were so much wiser than me! LOL!
i love the lessons you take from your dishwasher! 🙂 and i hope that it’s up and running after last week.
thank you for all you share with us, kathy!!
i wish you nothing but the best. <3
xoxoxo
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thanks for sharing.