The Fastest Clean Kitchen in the West

As I mentioned in our blog the other day, our family from Idaho was down for a short morning nap on Thursday. There was our daughter, husband, 3 small children, aunt, and in-laws. So we had a houseful.

One of the traditions we really enjoy when visiting them is going over to the other grandma and grandpa's home on Saturday morning for breakfast. The kids pile in the wagon and we walk the 150 or so yards to grandma and grandpa's house. We've come to call it "the Bradley breakfast," and what a feast it is. We always leave with our appetites sated and the walk back home is slower as we exhibit more of a waddle.

We anticipated this as our chance to reward those Bradley breakfast events with a McLean breakfast. Now a traditional McLean breakfast would involve cinnamon roles or coffee cake or biscuits. However, by the time we got the house clean on Wednesday night it was after 11 pm and we were ready for bed. JoAnn anticipated our exhaustion and with the outdoor temperatures already hovering at 90 degrees she decided we could do waffles. My first clue of her wisdom was when I got up about 4 am to see if the kids were here that the recipe book was out and opened to waffles. I was already willing to wake everyone up and get breakfast going, but I controlled myself.

By 7:30 am I had JoAnn up to help with the kids and then took off for a short walk. When I got back the kitchen was beginning to bustle. JoAnn and Sally were cooking pancakes, children were finding seats, plastic children silverware and plates appeared, syrup began to appear everywhere - hands, table, chairs, hair, and so forth. I love the way little ones can get into their food. Charlotte thinks that she has to eat a little of what everyone has (sounds like Joshua). Sally was already helping cook and I could see bacon and waffles coming soon, with scrambled eggs close behind. We would have had sausage, but forgot to get it out of the freezer.

The smell of food clearly was motivating as dad appeared soon, grandpa Bradley not far behind and finally grandma Bradley. The children were fed and adults were ready to start. I didn't time it, but I suspect breakfast was about a 2 hour affair. We sat and ate and talked and laughed. And yes, we waddled.

JoAnn and Sally took a break to eat, relax, join the conversation, and then they began to clean the table. Dishes began to disappear, the dishwasher was open for quite some time - at least until it was filled and then dishes began to pile up on the counter. Not a problem as we could clean those later. However, grandpa Bradley is a sustained breakfast man and likes to take his time. He commented, "I would like some oatmeal, but it seems my dishes have disappeared.... This is the home of the fastest dish in the west" We all laughed and fixed him a little oatmeal to order.

Even as a young mother (1972) she was well
on her way to being the Fastest Clean Kitchen
in the West.

The children and grandchildren were busy packing and loading the car for the next leg of their trip and the grandparents were still relaxing and after everyone left JoAnn and I got the dishwasher going.
We took a short break and went out for a couple of hours. If we had any common sense we would have crashed. When we got home I looked at what was left to wash and told JoAnn not to worry about it I would take care of it. She had to leave for the temple at 2:45 and hadn't started to get ready and it was closing on 2:00 pm. I worked while she showered and dressed and had all but a few things complete and in the drainer. I took a short break to do something else reminding her that I would finish the task shortly. I was only gone a few minutes, but when I walked back in the kitchen she had finished the last of the dishes.

She is a true McLean. Leave her alone in the kitchen with dirty dishes longer than 10 seconds and they don't stand a chance of staying dirty. When my brother and I were young we did the dishes in the evening. We were too young and inattentive of what was going on, but we never had to deal with the pots and pans of cooking dinner. Our mom always had them done before dinner was served. She was the holder of the Fastest Clean Kitchen in the West.

JoAnn has joined the exceptional ranks of the Fastest Clean Kitchen in the West. I stand in awe of her skills in the kitchen. And thankful for those skills.