During spring of my kindergarten year, our class had a fieldtrip to a park in a town about 20 miles away. Making that drive now is no big deal, but when you’re six and you’ve lived in a town of 300 all your life, going to a town of a couple thousand is a very big deal. Nonetheless, looking back now, I don’t remember much of that day. I’m sure we ate our little sack lunches, played on swings, slid down slide—typical six-year-old stuff. Then it was time for races.

However, these were no ordinary races. Some parent had come up with idea to have picnic kind of races, like pass potato under your neck and hold an egg on a spoon while you run to other side. I don’t remember too much about these, but there was one race that will forever be lodged in my memory—the three-legged race.

The parents decided not to use potato sacks for this particular race. Instead, they tied our feet together. One lucky little boy got me for a partner. Now what you have to know about this little boy is that he was second most athletic boy in our class. I’m sure he knew he was in trouble second they laced his foot to mine. As for me, I was mortified. This guy was a winner. He almost always won, and I knew that, with me, he didn’t have a chance.

Perhaps you remember Madge Manicurist, a television commercial character who commiserates with her clients about their chapped hands. While she is filing nails of one hand, she conspiratorially confides that her client is actually soaking her other hand in Palmolive dishwashing liquid. After all, "It softens hands while you do dishes."

It was a memorable pitch--good visual, element of surprise, great what-it-will-do-for-you line. That commercial, in several variations, ran for nearly thirty years. Jan Miner, actress who played Madge, died earlier this year at age of 86, but her persona lives on.

Softening hands is nice, but here's a better idea. How about softening our hearts while we do dishes?

Seriously. There's not a lot of multitasking you can do when you're elbow-deep in suds. Singing works, though your dance moves are a bit limited. You could talk on your hands-free wireless phone, but let's hope you can disconnect for few minutes it takes to clean up after a meal.

Given free rein, our minds tend to go into worry mode. We're likely to spin our stories, get locked into our beliefs, or ponder our personal list of things to do.

What if we got intentional about that time spent at sink? Take advantage of task and use those soapy bubbles as a trigger to be mindful.