My Dirty Sink and Why I’m Grateful For It.
Typically, a person does not look at their sink filled with dirty dishes and smile? No. One. (Am I overreaching by saying that?). I read this post by Petite Words that talked about the things we don’t see when looking at someone/something and absolutely felt inspired.
I know. You are thinking, why in the world would I be GRATEFUL for a dirty sink
Why in the world would I be GRATEFUL for a dirty sink? Click To Tweet
Here’s what you DON’T know about this dirty sink. I’m a gonna flip the perspective. So prepare yourself.
For the first time in my mommy life, my daughter and I baked our pies together for our Thanksgiving feast. She wasn’t just a little one begging for snacks while I figure things out, struggling to make pies like my mother. And I mean that I want to make amazing pies like my mother…that’s my struggle…not that my mother struggles.
My kid and I were about to make #teammagic happen. And we both were surprisingly excited by this new cohesiveness of engaging with each other.
Talk. Laugh. Love.
We talked and laughed about nothing and everything that was going on.
We looked at recipes and we had a session of figuring out measurements. “No, 1/8 teaspoon is not 2 scoops of the 1/4 teaspoon, Mom.” (Kidding…I knew that. I did.)
Playground talk. How these children get on with their playground time is like a PG version of Real Housewives of Atlanta & Orange County (Little bit crazy, little bit classy crazy). They are 10. Years. Old. (Shuddering happened as we cut the butter through the flour during this exchange). Other times, she says recess is as boring as watching her mommy’s old cartoons from the 80’s.
Puberty Talk. How she felt about her impending woman lady friend. Her questions of how she hoped she wouldn’t dieeeeeeee (make sure you understand the dramatics to dieeeeeee). Can she make it stop? No. No kid, you are screwed for 3-5 days. Have fun with that.
Music Talk. Trumpet playing seemed to be really working out as she boasted she was maintaining a grade she was proud of. I kept my lips tight because the “I told you so” wanted to make an appearance to nudge her and smirk. The good mom in me who would say no such thing said to just nod and say how great it was to hear that she enjoys Band. But “I knew you would” instead slipped out with smirky eyes. The nicer cousin to the jerk “I told you so”. No blood was shed thankfully and we continued on with making our kitchen smell heavenly.
I joked about her waking up early to do the turkey so I could sleep in. (The Kid didn’t find that funny.) Swish, Boom, Score. another point for Lame Mother of the Year.
Reflection
It was like spending the afternoon with my best friend. Without the Margarita. Or two.
Sure, there is always a little sad sigh when all the flour had cleared the air. There is the heaping mound of the aftermath of our fun afternoon sitting in the sink.
But that day? When I looked at the sink at the end of our baking extravaganza, my insides were content. The combination of apples, cinnamon and pumpkin filled and hung onto my nostril hairs. Daring me to find a more delicious smell. Our puppy was begging the kid to play. And we were in a good non frantic space. Shocking for it being a day before Thanksgiving.
That sink represented a true moment shared with my daughter who was growing older by the second. We worked TOGETHER to create and bake our desserts to put down on our table on a day to be thankful. That my kid was a bigger part of our shared meal. I had to remember to mark this moment.
How could I be mad at the sink that was a slight payment for an amazing afternoon with my daughter? {Insert happy sigh}
Do you have a dirty sink moment to share?
Wait, don’t go yet. I have a to tell you something!
Me and a bunch of bloggy pals are starting a fun Instagram Party on Thursdays starting January 5th! Find this photo and join in on the fun!
Linking up with all these great linky parties here!
Aloha, I’m Selena, The Rambler of My Rambling Thoughts. A storyteller, wife & mother just trying to make it to the next day by hunting for the funny to stay sane! I inhale coffee to keep my brain functioning. I occasionally binge on Netflix. I beg my dog to just leave the toilet paper alone for one second when I’m using the potty, and I pray to all that is holy I can get through a homework session without breaking Google for whatever is making my child smarter for her future. And I humorously navigate my new life as a military spouse without embarrassing my husband wherever the Army sends us. Did I forget anything?
I love this. My sink is always dirty. Sometimes from adventures like this and sometimes from moments spent with the people that matter rather than spending time with my sink is probably a good way to see it.
Happy 2017 my friend 🙂
Awwwww! I absolutely love this! There’s something magical about bonding over something with your child. Listening to them dish about playground life, their friends, and sadly, their enemies. Your daughter will never forget moments like that with you. Beautiful! PS, how were the pies?
They came out so great! I let the kid do the “first cut” and she was so proud =)
Great perspective! ! The dirty sink is never ending. I live your thoughts on this!
Thank you Tori! =)
Aw, sounded like the perfect way to bond and agree the dirty sink is a small, but perfect way to pay if nothing else. Happy to hear all about how this brought you closer. Hugs and thanks for sharing! Happy 2017 now!! 🙂
Happy 2017 to you as well! I can’t wait to get this year started! =)
What a great post! I love the perspective shift. I am so looking forward to moments like this with my own daughter. I love to bake, and I grew up with a mom who LOVES to bake. So, I remember moments like this with her. Thank you for sharing!
Great post! This reminds me of baking with my mum as a child. She is my best friend and sharing that time together really gives me some great happy memories. Nothing better than a mother and daughter relationship ? Thanks for visiting my blog ? https://allaboutbuk.wordpress.com/2017/01/02/mud-and-sand-winter-walks/
Thank you so much! I’m hoping my kid will feel this way too =)
This is possibly one of the happiest things I’ve read all day. And now I feel guilty for trying to keep the mess at bay when baking with my kids instead of just enjoying the time together. Thank you for the reminder to step back and appreciate the more important things in life…and for sharing your story at the #happynowlinkup!
It makes me smile that this post has stood out to some of my mommy bloggers! You always hope it comes across the way you intend. =)
You’re so right! I love the way you have connected with your daughter like this. I definitely think the best way to a teenager’s thoughts and feelings is though connecting with them like this. Less of a ‘how was school’ over the dinner table approach which would inevitably lead to the ‘it was fine’ answer.
For my, the kitchen sink is ALWAYS full. I’ve got a 26m and an 8m old so lots of dishes to wash and no dishwasher (I know. That’s on my 2017 list!) I was getting fed up of doing endless dishes but then realised that I could have a nice clean, but empty house, or a happy and full, but rather messy house. I decided to wash the dishes twice a day only. Every morning I leave it all in the sink and do it at nap time. I’ve got much more important stuff to do with my kids than wash dishes. Love this post! I hope there are many more kitchen sink chats to come xx
I’m so with you. I would just rather spend the time with them then trying to keep up with having a perfect house. I so enjoyed this time with my kid =)
OMG I loved this – we all need some dirty sink moments. It is about taking time and giving time to each other and really listening and then moments of magic communication can happen. Thank you for linking up to #ablogginggoodtime ?
I’m so glad you enjoyed reading this post! It definitely gives me pause and in the hustle and bustle of being a mom. I love #ablogginggoodtime!!
This makes my heart ache, what a lovely memory 🙂 I hoep I can share moments like this with my sons as they grow x #sharingthebloglove
I’m sure you will have a dirty sink moment! May not be in the kitchen, or maybe it will but you’ll know when you have it =)
I love the idea of changing your perspective so that “negative” things are made a bit more “positive.” This is such a lovely post. I’m glad you had a nice time baking with your daughter and could really talk and connect with her…even if it did leave a dirty sink behind.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com
Thanks so much Lauren! I enjoyed writing this post and can’t wait to come back to it in a couple years and reminisce. Thanks for visiting!
Selena, thanks so much for mentioning me, and I’m so happy if I inspired you! We all need to fresher our perspective, I was feeling a little low today and this picked me right up. Thank you lovely lady!
THANK you! Your post truly inspired this post. I hope your day gets better. Hugs and smiles coming at you!
What a lovely blog. I can’t wait until Willow is old enough for us to do activities together. We play all the time now but to pull together to do/make/create something will be awesome. Hopefully I’ll appreciate all these moments. She’s growing so fast already! x
This was such a lovely read! My son is only little so we’re only just starting to explore activities like this, but it’s lovely to have that time together – he’s a pleasure to spend time with (most of the time!) I have to admit that I’m not the biggest tidy-er though – I constantly have a messy house! Thanks for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove
Thank you for reading Katy =) I’m sure you will have many “Dirty Sink” moments as well!
I absolutely love this! And it’s reminded me just how much I love baking with my daughter! #eatsleepblogrt
Omg, I saw your title and thought – crap, I wrote one about washing up yesterday except I flipped it in an entirely different direction…great minds.
I fully agree that dirty sink is way more than dirty dishes; that’s memories, love, bonding and so much more. Stay blessed 🙂 #eatsleeoblogrt
Love this, theres always some form of “cleaning up” to be done but our children are not children forever. x
This is soooo good to show people how to re-frame thoughts – love how we can be grateful about stuff that isn’t obvious to start with. Good idea! #eatsleepblogRT
Thank you so much for saying this. Makes me feel good inside that I got it right. Kudos to Petite Words for her post that inspired my thinking for this one.
Love this post and the spin of perspective you put on my deepest pet peeve! TY! #eatsleepblogRT
Thank you Lisa. I HATE doing dishes myself. But this day was an exception. =)
Me too, but s dirty sink makes me leave the kitchen. ???
Me yesterday. I kept saying…nope, not ready. *Leave* *Come back* Repeat.
What a lovely way to look at a dirty sink – all those pots and pans and dishes are the remnants of happy moments. I’ll be remembering this when I’m next doing the washing up 🙂 #bloggerclubuk
This was a rare moment for sure that day and my outlook on washing dishes. =) But it’s helped a little bit since then.
I always have a sink full of dirty dishes, it really annoys me when the dishes get put into the sink and not the dishwasher. This is a lovely different way to view a dirty sink, to reflect on the reasons why it became that way in the first place. I hadn’t thought of it like that before. Thanks for linking up at #fortheloveofBLOG. Claire x
My sink is always dirty – alas at the moment its not because I am making lovely creations and spending quality time with the kids. More to do with me attempting to make something edible for tea!! Lovely post, can’t wait to get these kind of grown up conversations with my kids #eatsleepblogrt
thank you =) I wish someone was making me some tea. (even if I’m more a coffee drinker…I wouldn’t mind a cup of tea)
What a beautiful post! I’m glad you had such a fab time with your daughter, bonding and spending precious time together! I hope Thanksgiving was just as wonderful for you both ? Xxx #ForTheLoveOfBlog
Thank you for saying that =)
Hi Selena, I can see why you are grateful for a sink full of dishes. Those sort of Mother daughter moments are special. I always found the times I was doing something with the children, and we were sort of distracted, were the best times for learning what they had been up to.
xx
Thank you so much for your kind comment =)