Life Without a Dishwasher

I've had a broken dishwasher for about a week now. I know, all you busy moms think, "Why in the world did you go a whole week without a dishwasher??" Well, I realized it was broken after I needed to empty it in order to put another two sinkfuls of dirty dishes in it. Everything inside was all still greasy and nasty. So I ran it once more, thinking I had forgotten to run it earlier (which I do often). I realized a little light was blinking on it, and when I tried to restart it, it didn't do anything. All I could think was, "NOT today!" Of all days, this was one of the worst dish pile-ups I'd ever had! And we've only had the dishwasher for 3 years! Should a dishwasher really break after 3 years? It's not like I make it work too hard! I feel old when I say they just don't make things like they used to. So, Neil turned off the breaker, and back on to see if it just needed to reset itself. It didn't change anything. I was in denial. It couldn't be broken. So he tried it two different times. But, I eventually gave up and gave in to handwashing everything. Tomorrow. So, tomorrow, after I broke down in an emotional mess due to the impending task, I stood way too long washing way too many dishes, thinking way too much about the fact that we have it way too easy these days. We're so put out if an appliance breaks. I thought about my ancestors, and how they must laugh when I grumble about washing dishes by hand. How did mothers back then, with kids the ages of my kids, as pregnant as me, have any time for themselves or their kids or husbands between making meals (from scratch!), washing dishes (without running water), cleaning house, hand-washing clothes (and diapers!), gardening, feeding animals, and milking cows? I really was humbled that day, sitting there with my skyscraper of pots and pans. I told myself again, "that's why I'm not a pioneer woman. I wouldn't be able to hack it."
So, back to the dishwasher. After reheating leftovers for a few nights, and making easy, no-mess meals to avoid another tower of dishes, Neil looked at the sticker inside the dishwasher and told me, "You know, we should probably call this number to see what we need to do to get this fixed." (translation: "Hey, call the stinkin' number already, and get the dang thing fixed, because I'm sick of leftovers, and I'm running out of excuses to not help you with the dishes anymore.") So this morning I called the 1-800 number, and after I finally got a real person, I told him about the blinking light. He told me that it was a code to say that something was wrong. Oh, really? Thanks. He gave me the number for the Whirlpool nationwide repair company, and told me they would charge $65.00 to come diagnose the problem. Great. I get to pay the company just to tell me my dishwasher is broken, and then extra for any fixes, or parts I might need. But the guy on the phone said the complete warranty wasn't up, so it might cover the cost of some parts (well, that's comforting), and I asked him for other local numbers he had that I could call. I asked the first local company their charge for coming out, and the guy that answered asked what the problem was. I explained, and I thought he would then tell me their rate. Instead, he told me, "On your dishwasher, try pushing this button, then this other, and then both in sequence again." So I did like he told me, and all of a sudden the dishwasher turned on! He said it would go through a test cycle, then should be fine. So I hung up with him, checked the dishwasher 5 minutes later, and saw no blinking light! Now, just a crazy question: Why didn't Whirlpool ask me to try that??! Well, I put my unwashed breakfast and lunch dishes in, turned it on, and guess what? My dishwasher works! Oh, how I took for granted that wonderful appliance!
Peace has been restored to our home! Seriously. Neil and the girls must be so happy to know that this emotional pregnant woman can now rest a little easier -- and let them rest a little, too.

The Lord's Hand in My Life:
I'm grateful that there are still good, honest people in the world, who choose to help out, not to take advantage of the unknowledgeable for money or for recognition, but simply because they know they can help, and it's the right thing to do.