Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Reality strikes again.

So the reunions were an awful lot of fun, and we got to spend some time on the beach which I dearly longed for. I think the thing I miss most about the beach is the smell. When you're driving toward the ocean, there comes a point at which you get that first whiff of salty air, and when it hits me a rush of calm euphoria washes over me.

Yeah, I miss it.

We got home Sunday afternoon in time for Abbie to have a panic attack over the imminent start of college classes, Ben to be sick, and me to fill in at the daycare on Monday. Oh, the joy.

Now here it is Tuesday and I've spent the day running errands, then coming home to a filthy house. Dog hair is holding the walls up.

So I've swept and mopped, cleaned bathrooms and done laundry, and finally got the vacuum out.

My vacuum and I have a history. And it's not a good one.

I have a first-name relationship with the repairman. He laughs with glee when he sees me coming. I feel sure if I added up all the money I've put into this vacuum, I could have put all five kids through college and had money left over for a maid service.

Part of our problem is hair. Not the dog hair, but the people hair. Specifically the girl hair. It's long. And gets wound around the brush roll and impacted in the bearings. Our latest problem is that the roll has seized. That means it won't turn. And while the motor is turning and the brush roll isn't, there's a distinct smell of burning rubber and hair. Think sulphur pits at Yellowstone Park.

So I gave up at 2 pm. When the girls came home from work at 4:30, Abbie's first words were, "Wow, it stinks in here!"

Hi, dear. Good to see you too. How was your day? Mine was fine.

Now it's Wednesday and I gave the old machine one last chance before I dropped it off at the vacuum morgue. I took the brush roll apart and chipped the petrified hair out of the bearings at each end. It worked long enough to vacuum the living room and earn a stay of execution.

But not for long. The self-propelled function is on its last legs and that just won't do.

Here's what I'm getting next:


Be thankful ~

Karen

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