Our dishwasher is complaining. It has been for a while. It runs great, cleans the dishes great, but it has buttons. Oft-pushed buttons. So now, when pushed, they typically ignore you all together. No go, not gonna do it. It’s become a game to see who can get the dishwasher to start. If we all lose, we have to wash the dishes by hand, so it’s a vested interest on all sides to conquer the tired electrical mechanism and get it to go.

Add to this that two of the buttons have started speaking back in the form of electrical shock to any who dare to push them, and things get quite exciting. Visitor beware, “Spray” and “Rinse” will bite back.

Lately, Blaine’s even gotten into the thick of things. Last night, even he couldn’t get it. I stared at the overcrowded drawers of dishes that had been rotting in the spring heat for a day and did what any good woman would do.

I closed the door and decided to try again in the morning.

This morning, after fiddling for several minutes while the thing mutely sat there and ignored me, I offered up the job to Eden. The alternative being wash them all herself, she jumped in with ten fingers, ready to push buttons with vigor until something decided to go.

She got it. It’s washing. It’s also dinging. One ding per second kind of dinging. Perfect. Two hours of this and our ears will all be dinging for a week. So long as I don’t have to wash them by hand.

Dishwasher recommendations, anyone?