Wiser with reading, happier too

Between reading "The Happiness Project" and "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus", I have become happier and wiser.

Last night, as I was going to bed, I called Mike (at work) and asked him to "put your lunchbox dishes in the dishwasher and turn it on when you get home; it looks like there is almost enough for a full load."

"I can probably do that."

I asked him "Do you want me to put the soap in it now so that it is ready... or do YOU want to do it?"

"No. Just leave the soap sit out so that it reminds me to do it."

I agreed, left the kitchen (CLEAN) and went off to bed.

This morning, when I woke, I discovered there were dirty dishes ALL OVER THE COUNTER and in the sink, but the soap had, in fact, been put away. I checked the dishwasher to see if it had been run. (YES, it had!)

Shaking my head, I recalled the conversation... put your LUNCHBOX DISHES into the dishwasher. Ah, yes.... I never specified "your lunch box dishes and whatever dishes you dirty after you get home from work so that our kitchen STAYS CLEAN!" ... Silly me.

I wondered WHY in the world would he have not loaded the rest of the dishes, too - so that EVERYTHING was clean in the morning... especially since there was plenty of room in the dishwasher BUT, because I have become a better person in my reading, I knew NOT TO NAG or be critical about it. Instead, after he woke up, I announced "Thanks for running the dishwasher for me!"

"Yeah, it was real hard." he announced.
(In the penile language, I think that translated to: You're welcome.)

 A short while later, I could hear the clanking of dishes being unloaded from the dishwasher. (It is HIS agreed upon job to unload, but I do it the majority of the time because I am home and because it is much easier to do it myself than to wait for him to do it. I really DO, however, appreciate it each time that HE unloads it.

Surprisingly, all of the dishes from last night (and my chai tea mug from this morning) had been re-loaded into the newly-emptied dishwasher.

Redemption.

Thanks, honey! I'll try to keep the kitchen clean during the day so that we can (hopefully) enjoy a clean kitchen tonight after you get home from work. And maybe... JUST MAYBE.... the playpen full of clean laundry will be folded and put away, too. But now, I have to move on to picking up toys and cleaning toilets...