The other day, when I went to make the children’s breakfast, I realized that I had forgotten to run the dishwasher the previous night. As I stood at the sink, hastily washing the dishes I’d need to prepare the meal, I started thinking about dishwashing. Aside from the fact that I don’t particularly enjoy washing dishes, I always feel like they haven’t gotten clean enough in the sink. As I was washing that morning, I kept thinking that I’d feel much better about the cleanliness of the dishes after they had a trip through the dishwasher.

Then I started remembering my grandmother’s opinions on the dishwasher. They weren’t good. She didn’t trust the dishwasher to get things clean enough, and would rewash dishes after the cycle was complete. Her own dishwasher was used to store bakery items, certainly not for washing dishes, not even on a dish heavy holiday like Thanksgiving. She wouldn’t want to take any risks with her good china, after all.

It’s funny how things change from generation to generation–she didn’t trust her dishwasher, and I’m just the opposite–I don’t trust myself. At least we’re consistent, albeit in different ways!