Thursday, May 21, 2009

You Don’t Realize What You’re Missing . . .

I’ve been settling into our new home. It’s the smallest place we ever lived and the most expensive. I’m very grateful for a place to live. It’s close to the church. It doesn’t take very long to clean because it’s small. We have storage for the excess stuff downstairs in the basement. Many places we looked at didn’t have storage.

We didn’t notice that the apartment didn’t have a dishwasher or a microwave when we looked at it back in April. Easy enough fix – we bought a microwave. When we were first married, we didn’t have a microwave. What on earth did I do without microwaves back then?

I am very happy to be here in New York. I love the people at our church. I’m having fun getting to know everyone and they have been such a blessing to us. I love that we are near family again. I love the foods of New York.

But you don’t realize what you’re missing until you don’t have it. Why is that?

It’s a little thing, but I miss you dishwasher. One day, when we have a house again, I look forward to having you back in my life. I promise not to take you for granted again.

© Nadine Zawacki 2009

23 comments:

Lala's world said...

oh I don't know what I would do without a dishwasher!! and I actually am looking forward to a smaller house as well, so much less to clean!
One of these days I am going to make my way out to NY and when that day comes I hope we can meet and eat some of that yummy NY food together!

Damselfly said...

I feel your pain! We were without a dishwasher for a month recently. I think this is only the second day I've loaded and washed things in it.

Dawn said...

That must have been a shock to disco ver! I didn't have a dishwasher all the while the kids were growing up - we foolishly thought we were raising up our own dishwashers. I got one for Christmas probably 10 years ago - I can't imagine being without it. Glad you're settling in.

United Studies said...

Before we moved we had to go a month without our dishwasher and it was horrible! It took twice the amount of time it usually takes to clean up the kitchen. Thankfully, I had my TV to keep me company. :-)

Dawn said...

Our first several rentals didn't have dishwashers and I was so thankful when we finally got one. Now, I'm so spoiled that I make sure our summer rental beach cottage has one.

Glad you're settling in and enjoying being back in NY. You'll have to post about some of your adventures back into that area so we can all live vicariously though you!

Blessings!

Jill said...

Oh, I can so understand how you would miss a dishwasher. I remember my mom getting a dishwasher when I was a senior in high school. It was huge and portable and she'd roll it over to the sink and hook it up every time she needed to run it. And it was LOUD. But I was so thankful for that dishwasher because prior to that, I was the two-legged dishwasher in our house and it was a drag.

Yvonne Todd said...

I have to ignore the fact that rinsing takes as much water as washing when I do the dishes, but you are so right. A dishwasher makes everything so much more convenient... or do I just like the procrastination factor???

Bex said...

i could live without a microwave but no dishwasher? been there, done that, don't plan on doing that again.

Deb said...

Oh girl, my deepest sympathys!
I can't even imagine not having one!
But...what better excuse to enjoy all the NY foods you like ;O)

Toby Parsons said...

Hi Nadine,

I'm trying to get caught up again. :)

So, happy 3rd birthday!!! I'm so glad that we met through the ultimate blog party last year.

Regarding the cancer post, God is a God of miracles!!! And praise God that Tom is in remission now! :)

Dishwashers. We have a portable dishwasher. Do you have room for one of those?

Blessings on your NY venture Nadine!

chelle said...

We lived without a dishwasher and it is so tough! I hug mine on occasion now just to let it know how grateful I am!

Gail said...

I am no longer a lurker! haha

Do you have room in your kitchen for a portable diswasher?
We have a beautiful white one with a wood top in excellent condition that we'd be glad to give you. It's only about 4 years old- we didn't have a diswasher for about the first 30 years of our marriage!
Since we've renovated, we had one installed.
We'd love for you to have it if it works for you- let me know!

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Hi Nadine!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder ~ hopefull you will be reunited with a dishwasher soon.

Nice stopping by for a visit! Have a great weekend!

palmtreefanatic said...

yes, it always takes something like this to dissappear to realize how much we appreciate it, or them! I think the same is true for people!
or even body parts!
we are all so Blessed!

Shionge said...

I missed my dishwasher in Alabama too :) I know what you mean but it is not practical to have one here in Singapore because my kitchen is very small and secondly only four or five of us dine each time so faster to just wash it straight after a meal :)

My English friend called their dishwasher Mr. George ;)

Scarlet said...

How funny...I owned one (it came with my first apartment) but I NEVER used it. My parents are just starting to use theirs, but my mother thinks like me: while you're rinsing the plates, you might as well keep going and wash them yourself. It makes perfect sense to me.

Maybe I'm missing something here.

Now a microwave I can't live without. :)

Christina said...

I rarely use mine, but when I don't have one It seems like I need to use it all the time. Funny how life works. I will have to remember to check for a dishwasher the next time we move. Thanks for the tip.

Anonymous said...

i know I would definitely be annoyed if we did not have our dishwasher i use it at least once a week! so i hear ya :)

Knitting Mania said...

I'm feeling your pain, I've been without one for three years. Looking forward to a brand new one in the Montana house though!

In the mean time it's dishwater hands for me a bit longer. :/

Sounds like you and Tom are settling in real nice, how wonderful to be near family again. Heading up to the TC for a couple of days pretty soon, can't wait to see sis and our new baby.

Have a great "Memorial Day" weekend.

KarenW said...

Oh no! I would imagine that you miss your dishwasher. I miss having a nice tub to soak in. We had a great one in Romania and I'd relax and read. I too am waiting for a new home and it will have a good soaking tub if at all possible.

Anonymous said...

Until the Stone House is finished we are without a dishwasher too. I know just how you feel. Thanks for stopping in at Babasfarmlife and commenting! It meant the world to me.

Anonymous said...

When we moved almost two years ago, we downsized into a MUCH smaller home (after nine years of being strangled by high mortgage payments). Storage is a huge issue for us...still is...our garage is overtaken with still unpacked boxes of stuff that there is no room for in the house--but, for us, downsizing has been a very good move none-the-less. The girls are doing fine sharing a smaller room and it is good not to be stretched so taunt every month by our bills.

I would not have such a sunny attitude about the small home, though, if, like you, we were paying even MORE now. OUCH! And, reading about how you miss your dishwasher made me feel guilty for the many verbal daggers I have thrown at the dishwasher here in our smaller home. It is smaller than our old one and has the annoying habit of NOT getting the dishes clean! I have hated it since we moved here and often think longingly of my much newer, much nicer appliances in the home we sold....until I read your post, here, and I realized that as much as I grit my teeth over our current dishwasher (and dinky refrigerator and ancient stove!), it is STILL a whole lot better than NO dishwasher at all.

Cheri said...

I love having a dishwasher...and I often wonder what I'd do without our microwave.