Dishpan Hands

My dishwasher is broken. My three-month old dishwasher. The electronic panel has blown out -- and it's now in the process of being ordered. Seven to ten days, they said. Basically, the same thing happened to my old one.

Three months ago.

Anyway, I was thinking about how much we rely on appliances -- and how, of all of them, the dishwasher is the least troublesome. After all, it's not so hard to keep a sink full of water and just wash as I go. I don't like it but I handle it.

So, which appliance do I miss the most if it's out of commission? Well, I want to say my computer but I guess that's not really an appliance, is it? Not having a microwave is not good but, as long as my oven/stove/toaster are working, then I can manage. The coffee and tea makers I can get around. A non-working refrigerator is bad news, too -- except that I have another full-size one (with ice-maker) in the laundry room. I can hang clothes to dry if my dryer is on the blink -- a nuisance but another one of those things that can be done.

So, that leaves the washing machine. I don't have a creek or river behind my house where I can beat clothes. I do have a bathtub but, let's face it, I'm not going to beat my clothes, anyway. So, if my washing machine is out, this means that I have to either go to the laundromat (ugh) or take my dirty clothes over to my mother's. Which is better than a laundromat but still not something I want to do -- I'm not much on schlepping. So, I give the most-needed award to my washing machine. Even with two kids out of the house and the laundry down to three people, I wash a tremendous amount. Every time the thing makes a funny noise, I start praying.

I guess they don't make things like they used to -- and electronic panels, while nice, cost a tremendous amount to replace when they go bad. Fortunately, this dishwasher is still under warranty -- if it weren't, then it would probably cost half of what the whole dishwasher cost to replace. This actually happened on a washing machine once -- the electronic panel went out not long after we got it. It was repaired under warranty but then it went out again after the warranty was up -- so we ditched it -- and when I got a new one, I chose one with the old-fashioned knobs. So many things are going to the electronic panels now, though, that knobs will probably be a thing of the past before long. My oven has an electronic panel, too, but it's not much-used, I have to admit -- and not something I'd cry over.

So, for now, I'm washing dishes. It takes me back to the long-ago days when we didn't even have a dishwasher. But I was young then and not so attached to machines that do stuff for me.

Now, if I could just figure out how to get the clothes and dishes to put themselves into the appliances -- and then take themselves out, I'd have it made.