Commentary by Heather Kestian
I am old. I recently came to this realization when we got a new vacuum. Gone are the days of late night partying and clubbing. Wait, what?
The old vacuum was a wedding present, which I did not understand the value of said cleaner at the time some nine years ago. It had served more than its useful life and had caught on fire. Thankfully, no one was injured, including the carpet, but it was time for a new one.
I did something I do not normally do: I researched (read Googled) “best pet vacuum.” Needless to say, those search terms were a bit overwhelming. But after hours of online reviews, we had our next vacuum chosen. In one short week, the new vacuum would arrive and my carpet would be clean again.
As many of you know, we have a cat. We call her Callie, and she rarely answers to it. She is far too proud to be controlled by the likes of us. She has massive amounts of hair. And by extension, hair balls. The kids adore her and she does a good job of tolerating them. She loves them during nap time sine she is anyone’s best friend if they are napping. Did I mention that the hubbs is allergic to her? He must love me.
I have reached a certain age. I shall call it, the Age of Enlightenment. It has a nice ring to it. How did I come to figure out my true age? When the package that housed our new vacuum cleaner arrived in the mail (I love Amazon). I opened it that evening and put the vacuum together. It was like being a kid again!
When I turned the vacuum on for the first time, it was like a small piece of heaven was here on earth. It is quiet, it does not make my arms and core hurt to push it around, and it sucks all the dirt and cat hair into the pretty chamber. And for some strange reason, I have to announce how disgusting the filled chamber is after I have finished vacuuming. It may sound something like: “Look at all that dirt and cat hair! So gross!” What has happened to my life?
I may have a slight obsession with vacuuming now. Everything gets moved when I vacuum the floors now. Why not? When you appreciate something this much, you do not mind doing it.