January 16, 2011- Chillaxing...

     Thanks to a dear friend and co-worker, my life got a little easier than weekend, and I was able to spend the majority of the day “chillaxing” as I’ve been told the most current teen slang is to describe my Sunday on  Kwaj.  Chillaxing is a mix of “chill” and “relax,” and I’m all in for that! The reason why I was able to chill and relax so much today was because of one simple American luxury, a dishwasher! I have been hand washing dishes, which I found so therapeutic after not having a kitchen or even two sinks with which to wash and rinse in for so long, but as a time-saver, I must admit, the dishwasher is nice.  I am still a little compulsive and must rinse fairly thoroughly before I feel comfortable transferring my dishes and silverware to the custody of the mechanical hands of this miracle human invention! But, for whatever reason, I truly believe when I am removing the warm, slightly humid dishes from the washer at the end of the cycle that they are so much cleaner and more fully sanitized than I could ever do on my own.  Call me crazy, but as I’ve said more than once before in this blog, it’s the little things that make all the difference sometimes.  A home made meal, a consistent discipline routine and schedule for little ones struggling with transitions, a tool to help you make cleaning faster and easier, a weekend with no plans and plenty of time to chillax can bring more peace and happiness than a perfect family life or an ideal career or even a perfect day because it’s the little moments in time that we draw strength to carry on with. It’s the small acknowledgment of our hard work or the encouraging word from a friend that carries us through an entire day, week, or month. It’s the enduring love of family or the laughter of our children that makes it all worthwhile. So, today, it’s a modern convenience that brings me joy accompanied by the generosity of friends who are so inclined to give me a dishwasher simply because they hated to keep it knowing there was someone else who could use it!