Watch Out...

I've got a new secret weapon.

Well, I say "new", but it's actually something that's been tucked carefully into my hall closet for a number of years now.

It's my vacuum cleaner.

This wonderful discovery was made quite by chance a few days ago. Usually, house cleaning around here is carried out in an orderly, practical manner, typically on a Saturday morning when Darren's around to help watch the kids.

But on that fateful day, things around here were not orderly or practical. They were in such a state, in fact, that I had reached a near boiling point. I walked into the living room carrying Meghan, who was grumpy and overtired, and found a disaster. I think my crazy rant went something like, "Who made this huge mess in here and where did all these feathers come from and SO HELP ME IF I FIND ONE MORE GOLDFISH CRACKER ON THIS FLOOR!"

Things were not good.

So, I wearily reached for the vacuum, slipped Meghan into her sling, and banished Dylan and Caitlyn to their bedrooms.

What happened next was so amazing. In the first few minutes of cleaning, the repetitive motion of vacuuming served to relax me. The sound of the motor drowned out the yelling coming from the kids rooms. Meghan was lulled by the rhythmic movement and hum of the machine. By the time I had finished, we had all calmed down and my floor was clean!

Now what, I ask, could be better than that?