"Vox Humana" > wrote:

> I was referring to myself as the "wicked" one. However, this has become a
> point of contention with both myself and my sister. We would prefer not to
> be rushed into a big clean-up job immediately after dinner and our elderly
> mother insists on diving into the job. We have both explained to her that
> when we are entertaining, we don't want to spend our post-dinner hour in the
> kitchen when everyone else is having coffee in the living room. Our
> attempts have fallen on deaf ears. I do try to do as much as possible
> before hand to limit the number of dirty dishes to deal with in the
> aftermath of dinner. I always run the dishwasher during dinner so it will
> be ready for a new load right away.

Same here. I still get dirty looks for attending parties with her and
not jumping in after the meal to help clean up with the hostess. (Last
time was at a friend of my mom's; this woman had hired help to assist
with the meal! And Mom still glared at me for staying at the table and
enjoying the chitchat.)

I'm a "morning dishes" person. My mom's a "Do It Immediately" person.
Gah.