Sunday, October 18, 2009

Finding a tiny piece of peace.....

I wanted a Dyson vacuum for a long time before I got one. There was nothing wrong with my Hoover so I couldn't justify buying one but boy was I tempted. I would drool over the majestic Dyson standing on display in stores and wonder when I could bring one home. A couple of years ago I got one and I swear it more than lived up to my expectations. I vacuumed my clean floor and area rugs and watched with both alarm and satisfaction as I saw the canister filling with dirt that my old vac had over looked. Upstairs on the carpet was even more horrifying and I thought it was clean already - it looked clean and still had the stripes my old vacuum had left hours earlier. OK enough about it's awesomeness

Fast forward to last week when my Dyson let me down. Something is stuck in there somewhere and even though G took it apart, he was unable to reach the offending piece that caused Dyson to be so sick. The hose part was still working so I continued to do the best job I could lugging the upright vacuum along while trying to suck up every fleck of glitter, dog hair and crumb. Walking around barefoot today I discovered that I was being unsuccessful as I could feel gritty dust underfoot. Reluctantly I grabbed my broom from the laundry room and swept through the house. Our new house has only hard floors thankfully.

As I was sweeping and marveling at the growing pile of dust and doggy hair I noticed how peaceful it was - no roaring vacuum motor, no sound of things clunking into the plastic canister. I could hear my laundry swishing, the dog snoring, the sound of T1 turning the pages of his book from the warmth of his bed prior to going to sleep, the rhythmic breathing of T2in dreamland. I was thrilled with the pile my trusty broom gathered, I felt a strange connection to a time before vacuums and other noisy gadgets - the simplicity of a wooden stick and a bunch of bristles with no parts to get clogged or malfunction - how could a broom let me down?

My Dyson will eventually be fixed and I am sure I will continue to use it but I must remember once in a while to pull out that broom and enjoy some peace while cleaning up the remnants of our day that have fallen to the floor.

4 comments:

Nicole {tired, need sleep} said...

Excellent post. I've been having a hard time convincing myself that certain housework really *does* need to be done, and the thought struck me that it could be a time to reflect and, well, just put two thoughts together in a row for once, while my hands are busy. Someone recently told me their grandmother loved doing dishes by hand because it was built-in "me time". Your post really struck a chord with me - thank you!

A said...

I will admit that hand washing dishes makes me feel the same way although I would not want to wash them that way all the time!

Rachel H. said...

My husband bought a janitor broom for sweeping, you know the long flat kind that the janitor does the gym floor with? I thought he was crazy and mocked him openly, but now it is the quickest and easiest tool to clean the floors with! Competing noises drive me crazy, so it is nice and quiet.
I love all your kid friendly activities and crafts, when I am scratching my head trying to figure out what to do with my little suicidal elves, I can always find a great idea on your blog.

A said...

Thanks Rachel!