We've all been there

A colleague of mine said this to another colleague when she said: "I sure am tired of washing our dishes in the shower."

I can think of a lot of responses to "I sure am tired of washing our dishes in the shower." But we've all been there, just wasn't on the list.

Responses such as "Say what!" "Did you just say, wash dishes in the shower?", and "Are you kidding me?" come to mind.

These responses came to mind because I grew up in a land where kitchens belong to the house and the phrase "They took everything but the kitchen sink" makes sense. Here in Germany the kitchen, with rare exception, does not belong to the house. In other words, when you move, you take everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink. This commonly results in living in a home without a kitchen for a few days, weeks, or even months, thus necessitating the washing of dishes in the nearest equivalent to a sink, i.e., the shower or bathtub.

I was reminded of this conversation today when I spoke with an English fellow who just moved to Düsseldorf and finished hunting for an apartment. He said he was extremely blessed to have found a place with a kitchen, and with lights (another item that does NOT belong to the house/apartment in Germany). We were equally blessed when we arrived and were grateful that they took everything but the kitchen.