I never planned to write about my dishwasher during Ramadan. It is not a person, or an animate thing. I mean, who thinks to thank the dishwasher?

One of my goals is to write everyday, and this practice means that some days I have to think about the obvious.

In the span of a day, two little kids generate a LOT of dishes. One of the paradoxes of life, for sure.

But a few days ago, my dishwasher gave me an error code.

I clean out the drainage thing at the bottom of the machine. I empty out all the stuff that is stuck inside. I scrub the little parts of the drain with vinegar and baking soda.

I clean it and hit the button to restart the wash.

Nothing.

The machine keeps trying to run, so I leave the machine door open, and hope that it just tires itself out. Of course, the error remains.

So I leave. I leave my house with the broken machine, and hope that the problem will resolve itself.

Nope.

When my husband came home, he fixed the machine in 2 minutes.

What an extraordinary thing to have someone who can fix a machine that you depend on so much.

What do we do for the sake of God, and what do we let go of for the sake of God?

I tried to let go of things like machines, maybe I don’t need the machine at all, and I can simply wash everything by hand. But it turns out I like having a machine to help me. I try to hold onto things that are completely useless thinking that maybe one day I will repurpose those objects. But really, I am just holding onto useless things.

I admit I like having someone help me with little things, like fixing the dish washer. I am grateful to have someone who talks to the kids, and engages them. He teaches them so many things I don’t know how to do. He lights up the entire house with his presence, makes things shiny on a metaphoric level, like a working dish washer.