Dishwasher blog.

Did a fair amount of driving today, mostly to retail destinations -- to a fine, fine bakery in the morning; Costco later; a park with a water feature after that (just Lilly and me); and Target toward the end of the day. Got to examine the northwest suburban landscape in some detail. My favorite business establishment so far: Wise Guys Restaurant, whose signage promises Italian... and Indian cuisine. A combination I’ve never encountered before. I have to note that the "Wise" in the name is probably a play on its location on Wise Road.

But the excitement of suburban living didn't stop there. Late in the day, equipped with dishwashing detergent (Cascade, my brand because of the hypergreen box) obtained at Target, we fired up the dishwasher. I've never owned an automatic dishwasher, or lived in an apartment that had one.

Yet I had one growing up. In fact one of my earliest memories is of the dishwasher we had in Denton, Texas, when I was about four. Oddly, it wasn't built into the kitchen, but was a metal box on wheels, a configuration that probably isn’t made any more. Come to think of it, I don't remember how the water got into it, though I suppose there was a hose that attached to the faucet in the kitchen sink. What I do remember clearly was that while it was washing, an orange light on top glowed intensely. Or so it seemed. I remember staring at it, fascinated by its concentric rings and vivid color.

It's hard to know what a kid is going to remember later. I can only vaguely imagine what Lilly, not quite six now, thought of the move. Certainly she had the best time of any of us, even better than Ann, whose moods aren’t as linked to external events as the rest of us (but she'll learn). For Yuriko and me, the move was effort, uncertainty, stress. Such is adulthood. For Lilly, it was the biggest adventure ever! I think. She understood very well that this was a permanent move, though she did ask me once or twice about that very thing, just to make sure. She didn't show any sadness at leaving the old place, and was quite eager to stake her part of the new place.

All that feeling will probably evaporate in the coming years. Some detail along the lines of a glowing orange orb on a dishwasher will be all that's left.