The Magic Touch

Today was one of THOSE days. You know, where nothing goes exactly as you plan, but it isn't exactly a bad day.  Perhaps, aggravating, is a good way to describe it. I enlisted the help of my children in cleaning the kitchen this afternoon.  Their job was to work on the floor while I tackled the stack of dirty dishes in the sink and worked to de-clutter countertops. Somewhere in the process of floor cleaning, my eldest decided to use the vacuum, to remove some of the dirt, and then she was going to follow up with scrubbing the floor.  Seemed a bit like adding an extra step in the process to my way of thinking, but as long as she was helping I didn't care.  At least I didn't care, until the vacuum stopped working.

A year ago, we purchased a Dyson, when it was on big time sale. I can honestly say that I have never seen this model on sale since, for as cheap as we got it. This is to note, we wouldn't own one at all, if it hadn't been for my dumb luck stumbling onto that sale last year. Anyway, I love my vacuum. The suction on that thing is amazing. It is also super lightweight, and really easy to maneuver, unlike its predecessor vacuum cleaner, a Kirby, which we owned for 10 years. Therefore, I am very protective of my vacuum, because I have lived in a world, with much more cumbersome and less effective vacuums.

I heard the vacuum stop, and assumed my eldest had turned it off, especially when she tossed the hose down.  Instead she announced, "It isn't working." Not terribly worried...yet, I assumed the breaker had tripped, as it often does in our kitchen. However, when I looked at the outlet, I noticed the microwave, that was plugged into the same outlet, still had a functioning clock displaying accurate time.  Cue a slight sense of panic.  Hurriedly, I emptied the canister of the vacuum, checked the hose for blockages, plugged it in a different outlet, all to no avail. More panic. I repeated those steps, and added a few more...cleaning areas of the vacuum as I systematically tried to determine what was wrong.

It was during this examination that I have come to the conclusion that wire hangers still serve a purpose.  I desperately needed something I could manipulate and shove into the vacuum hose where it connected to the vacuum.  I searched every closet in hopes of locating a lingering wire hanger from years gone by. Let me just say, Joan Crawford would have never had a reason to go all Mommy Dearest in my house, because we have no wire hangers at all. I finally resorted to using a straw, which wasn't nearly as effective as a wire hanger would have been. I took every bit of my vacuum apart that I could reasonably reassemble again. Yet, it didn't work.  I fought back tears of frustration, mourning the loss of a vacuum that I knew we could not replace. I broke the bad news to my husband in an instant message.

After spending an hour and a half in vacuum surgery, I declared my victim dead, and began dinner preparations.  When my husband walked in the house, he looked at me to ascertain the news of the vacuum. I shook my head solemnly, and he bypassed me and went straight for the vacuum.  He walked around it, studied it, and then asked, "What exactly is wrong with it?" I explained the brush would spin, but it wouldn't suction anything and carry it to the canister. He grabbed the handle, pushed the power button, I walked away.  I didn't want to watch.  But as I stood in the kitchen, I realized it sounded normal.  It was alive! It was fixed!  "What did you do?" I exclaimed. "Um, I turned it on," was his extremely detailed response.

Can I just admit here, that though overjoyed, I was also a wee bit annoyed. How is it that I wrestled with that stupid thing for over an hour, got dirt in my hair, and slightly burned my thumb, and it refused to work?  He walks in and pushes the same button I pushed countless times and it springs to life for him! Not to mention, it makes me look like a moron to him. Though he didn't say it, I strongly suspect he wonders if I had pushed the power button.  I did!  I swear I did!

It doesn't seem quite fair in the end, but I am thankful my vacuum still works. I just wish I had the magic touch too.  It would have saved me a lot of grief this afternoon.