The dirty side of cooking

Cooking is fun, at least for me.

Cleanup is not, at least not for me.

Dishes suck. I don't care who the fuck you are.

I like cooking "one pan" meals because it greatly cuts down on the cleaning I have to do afterwards. A lot of nights, especially now that I'm focusing on trying new things, cooking more often, and, most pertinently, documenting the process, I use a bit more. I don't have a huge inventory of pots, pans, or utensils, so I have to keep the ones I have clean so I can cook the next night. Washing dishes ends up with a lot of repetitive motion: rinse, scrub, rinse, scrub scrub scrub, rinse, stick in the dishwasher, move on to the next. It gives me time to think, which is not something I try to do often depending on my mindset. Tonight, though, I was thinking about how washing dishes can be a little symbolic.

See, I love making food, and I love eating it. Hell, the meal design and food prep are a blast, too. However, if I'm wanting to be able to do those things, I have to wash the dishes. It's a cycle that, the longer I find myself moving through it, the more I find that washing dishes not only helps me better appreciate having my pans and utensils ready when I need them but also makes me more conscious of what I should try to change to prevent having as big of a mess later.

I've been learning to apply this to my life a bit lately, too. I haven't had the easiest life, nor have I had the hardest. Still, there have been plenty of highs and lows. Heartbreaks, addiction, medical concerns, familial discord, injury, mental illness, financial woes, loss of jobs, loss of friends, loss of loved ones, loss of purpose have always cycled back to love, freedom, better health, stronger bonds, a more whole body, mental stability, financial success, new jobs, new friends, new loved ones, and new purpose. You can't have clean dishes to appreciate if they don't get dirtied. They don't get clean unless you wash them. Sometimes the chore is the blessing.

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