Kingdom Twindom +1

What is it about the holidays that makes me so sentimental? I am very blessed to have a set of grandparents who are alive and well, living over 500 miles away. But while everyday life brings them continually to mind, the holidays conjure up more memories of those who reside in heaven.

I have lost very few loved ones whose eternal security was not being walked out day by day. This is one of the greatest blessings of my life.

This Christmas I have been especially missing my Pappaw. I am sure this is somehow related to the magical spirit of the holidays, even though it seems to have been brought about by a dishwasher on the fritz.

Nine years ago I lived (for a few brief months which I will cherish always) with my aging grandparents. I had just been supernaturally healed from a life of pain, and each day was a brand new (and often humorous) gift. My Pappaw, who was known to drive across town for a sale on Blue Bell ice cream, would have loved The Frugality Project. He would probably have added the tip, “Never replace anything that can simply be rigged to work awhile longer.”

_________

“OK, Doll, I’m gonna show you how to work this dishwasher.”

“I know Pappaw, you’ve showed me.”

“Well, it’s a little tricky. It takes some practice to get it just right.”

Inside, I sighed. But I said, “Alright, I’m watching,” with a great big smile. Then I spun to give an oh-my-gosh glare to my Saturday morning jogging partner.

“Listen for this sound. It runs for about ten seconds before you hear it.”

“Uh-huh,” I said while mimicking every word (word for word) proving that my open mic style dishwasher tales (the ones I’d become famous for at parties) had not been even the slightest bit exaggerated.

“OK, now open the dishwasher. Fill this pan of water. You need this much water! Take two steps back, so you don’t spill it on the floor, and then fling the water into the machine like this.”

“Yes, I see now,” I responded oh so respectfully, causing my friend to end up on the floor in muffled but side-splitting laughter that was somehow overlooked by my very focused (and somewhat cheap) grandfather. “Thanks for showing me again.”

_________

You may remember that our kitchen plumbing was a source of frustration earlier this month. Somehow, in the process of the clogging and/or the repairing, the dishwasher chose to just give up and die. But after doing a few sink-fulls by hand, I decided I was not yet willing to accept a life of dishwater hands and hair (Do you get dishwater hair? I hate it!).

So, I dragged my pink tool bag from the closet, took out a wrench, and proceeded to bang on every moving part (and unmoving) until I was sure I’d made a spiritual, if not mechanical, breakthrough. I closed the door, took a deep breath, and turned the dial to “on”.

The swishing and whirling that came next was truly a glorious sound! And I will admit that, because Papa Bear was at the store during my banging fixing fit, I gleefully settled into my chair and practiced saying, “I fixed it. I’m a fixer. I fix things!” And I masterfully repeated said line when he walked through the door.

But, while Papa Bear was also extremely pleased with my accomplishments, I was only able to bask in my accidentally obtained glory for one load of pots and pans. I unloaded and reloaded the trays at record breaking speed, but when I started the washer a second time, there was no glorious swishing to be heard.

What I did hear picked me up and hurled me nine years back in time.

“Listen for this sound. It runs for about ten seconds before you hear it.”

Surely I couldn’t fix my broken dishwasher by tossing in a little water, right? Wrong!

I might choose to simply stick the pan of water inside and turn it upside-down (rather than the running start – water flinging method), but I still have my Pappaw to thank. And because doing the dishes has taken on a charm that I never could have expected, I hope this dishwasher lasts for a long, long time. Of course, I also know that there ways to actually fix a dishwasher…with a little online help and without me banging around with a wrench!

Ahem.