All that fuss with getting water and so on.
ANNOYING.
Nowadays, the Damsel only has to lift a finger–literally–to fetch water in her kitchen. But there are still annoyances that feel a bit like a burr under the saddle. Here are just a few:
1. The humanfolk who live at the Cottage think they are being kind when they stack their dishes in the sink after eating. But the Damsel sort of hates this, since she has to unload them all out of there in order to wash a pot or what-have-you. Why can’t they just put them in the dishwasher instead? Why? These people are capable of such action. They are all tall enough for the job; indeed, they are all taller than the Damsel at this point.
2. When these self-same people are coerced into putting dishes into the dishwasher, they leave rice stuck to them, even though rice is banned from this particular dishwasher. It gets into the little nozzles in the spray arms and wreaks havoc. Rice. No bueno.
3. Building incredibly complicated towers on top of the bulging trashbag, instead of taking the trash out. Annoying and time-wasting, not to mention gross, since the towers eventually tumble.
4. Putting empty containers back into the refrigerator or pantry, creating a false sense of inventory.
5. Opening cans of things, such as chili, eating half, and putting the rest in the refrigerator–but the next day opening a new can. Repeatedly. Thus the refrigerator runneth over with little 1/2 cans of stuff that stay there until they are furry.
What would old-timers have to say about such a list? The Damsel is sure they’d be baffled. Still, they’d understand the feelings behind them. Waste not, want not, as the saying goes. That means food or time. Or energy. Yes, Grandma was all about not being wasteful, and tried to make use of every scrap of food, cloth, or time.
But even though there must have been many annoyances and frustrations, the Damsel only remembers her wrinkly smile, her quiet bustle in doing good, her soft and squishy hugs.
The Damsel’s goal: to be less wasteful, less annoyed, and more grateful.
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Margot
is a mom of seven and pretty much crazy from it. Online she's known
as the Damsel in Dis Dress and blogs at the Old School and twitters at @the_damsel. A blog about her writing adventures is found at Inklings.
