This shall be considered Amendment #6 to the Spousal Immunities and Protections for Sanity (SIPS) Bill of Rights:

The caregiver shall retain the right to have dirty dishes located in any room, on any surface, and in any location where dirty dishes would not normally be expected to occur.

Protected locations may include:

• The living room
• The bedroom
• Any desk
• The bathroom
• Next to the television
• Near the front door
• Amongst perfectly clean dishes

The presence of dirty dishes in unusual locations shall not be interpreted as evidence of poor housekeeping.

Rather, it shall be recognized as the natural consequence of the activities of Uncle Lewy.

Visitor Responsibilities

Any visitor discovering a dirty dish shall have the unrestricted right to place said dish into the dishwasher.

Such action shall be considered an act of kindness rather than an acknowledgment of household disorder.

Visitors are expressly prohibited from saying:

“How long has that been there?”

Because no one knows.

And frankly, no one wants to know.

Statement of Record

It is hereby established and permanently entered into the record that any dirty dish found in an unexpected location arrived there through the actions of Uncle Lewy and not through the neglect, oversight, or failings of any member of this household, especially the caregiver.

Any allegations to the contrary shall be dismissed without discussion.

Commentary

There was a time when every dish in the house had a proper place.

Those days have passed.

Now dishes embark on mysterious journeys of their own choosing.

Like many things in a household touched by Lewy body dementia, their movements are difficult to explain, impossible to predict, and occasionally discovered weeks later.

The caregiver is encouraged to shrug, load the dishwasher, and move on.

Some battles are worth fighting.

The location of a coffee cup from three days ago is not one of them. ☕🍽️😄

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