As children growing up on a farm, we had our chores to do. Farm work was easily acceptable, but it was the indoor chores that didn't' sit so well my with myself and my siblings. We had rooms to clean. But the most disliked chore was that of washing dishes. For a family of two parents and six children still at home, there were lots of dishes to wash. Two sisters had already moved out to go live in the city on their own. But they came home enough to add to the pile of dishes. They never got a turn washing dishes as they didn't live in the house. Mother and Daddy never got a turn either. Mother cooked meals and Daddy farmed.
For the longest time, I could not understand when my turn came around why I had so many dishes to wash. This went on for a long time until it was discovered that my older brother had something to do with it. His turn to wash dishes was before mine. He had been hiding the big lot of his dishes and bringing them out when my turn rolled around. When discovered, my mother put a stop to it. But, surprisingly, it was not my brother that showed anger. He merely laughed it off. One of the older sisters who had already left home pitched in her remarks. She went in defense of my brother.
"You're making too big a deal over nothing," she said. "Your brother was just playing with you." She continued, "At my house, dishes get washed with no problem. I put my dishes under Two Waters." She laughed, "He's my dog."
I washed dishes the same as always, but kept wondering if I could train our dog to wash dishes. As a little girl of seven, I was quite gullible at that age. I actually tried training our dog. I had no success come of it. I laugh to this day, recalling that I actually did believe she had a dog named Two Waters. When visiting her in the city, I never saw any dog. I found myself even washing her dishes.
I laugh at that whole incident today. Why did I fall for the Two Waters story? Although I am certain the dog never existed, I still hold memories of that dog that might have been.
