I would love to be a good housewife, have an impeccably clean house, and still find time to completely devote myself and my energies to my 7-year-old. But to date, being with my son has always prevailed over housework. We had a party yesterday evening and now my sink almost resembles those scary ones seen in the TV commercials and the kitchen as a whole looks like a war zone.
I still remember the day I got my very own dishwasher - what a day! I loaded it with the heap of dirty dishes, added some detergent, and opened a beer to watch it work instead of me. I couldn't stop singing: "Candy, candy, candy, I can't let you go..." Since that day, I have realised the immense help of the "machines" in my life. I calculated that, thanks to the dishwasher alone, I have gained two extra hours per day for myself and my family. I was looking at it, sipping my cold beer, and it was working for me. Amazing.
Even though I grew up with a dishwasher, I only came to respect it when I was the only one responsible for the messy kitchen. Then I started appreciating all the machines and robots in our homes, the quiet fairy godmothers of us housewives, who help us cope with the challenges of being in charge of the household. The washing machine, the irreplaceable vacuum cleaner, the mixers, blenders, choppers, dryers, computers, mobile phones, baby monitors... Who can imagine life without them?
Did you know that the first stove was produced in the last century and by a company that was managed by a woman? It was 1806 when Amélie De Dietrich, a 20-something year old widow and mother of four, inherited the almost-bankrupt family business and decided that she would rely on the power of fresh ideas and inventions to keep it going. In 1850, she launched the first wood burning kitchen stove in serial production. It was a hit, obviously. Is it such a surprise that behind this crucial invention for households was a woman? She helped empower women, understood their needs, and gave them grace while doing the oldest duty we have in this life - cooking to feed our families.
Many times I have thought of getting some help with the household tasks, and I was reminded of this again today when I tripped over a toy locomotive my son had left in the middle of the living room. Not someone to do the work for me, you understand, but a cheerleader; someone who would stand by my side and encourage me with words like: "You can do it! Go girl! Only two rooms to go! Don't stop now!"
Why is it that I don't like cleaning? Do those housewives who love to clean do so as a vent for their nervousness? Is that saying correct - clean house, angry housewife? Oh, I don't know any more. Also, I find it very interesting that in the 1950s, American housewives used amphetamines to help them clean. That subject was mentioned in an episode of Desperate Housewives, in which Felicity Huffman's character used the drugs to manage all her duties on time. The name of the series makes clear that housewives are rarely cheerful, happy and delighted. Housewives are desperate. House-related work is cause for despair and scarily resembles Syziphus' work.
Well, what can we do? Thank God for the kitchen appliances our century has blessed us with, but I am waiting for them to start encouraging us too. Is it too much to ask from the future?