Vacuum Phobia

I suppose I didn't vacuum enough while Eli was in the womb because they are his greatest fear. It's getting better, but anything loud upsets him, even a person's laugh. I tend to put vacuuming lower on the chore list partly for the boy's sake, but also for the fact that the house has to be tidied before it can happen. Luckily for the state of our home, and sadly for Eli, potential guests put me into high cleaning gear pretty often, which means the frightful machine must come out. Most of the time I'm alone, so I whip out the Bjorn and wear my big two year old while maneuvering the appliance around the house. He's pretty somber and quiet through the whole ordeal.

I'd been looking around for a toy vacuum when I found the perfect one at D.I. (pretty much my favorite store) yesterday. Classic Fisher Price, Brian said Kim had the same one growing up. No batteries, but still lights up and makes noise. The boy pushed it around all night and even had me put the chairs up on the table like I do when vacuuming for real. I was so excited, not just for the steal of a deal on a toy that was a hit, but that it might be curing him of his phobia.

This morning was the true test, which ended in a miracle. He was somber of course, then interested when I let him down to help hold the hose to clean the molding and before I knew it he ran off to get his vacuum. We gleefully vacuumed the rest of the house together, even the stairs.All our hard work will pay off double, since we have two sets of guests coming in the next few days. I am a little sad when I clean the whole house and they only stay in one room. So the next time you come over, feel free to wander, and know that the boy helped vacuum. (And yes, that is a toddler bed the boy is too scared to use.)