I made the grave mistake of saying “Turn the vacuum to full power please.” I immediately recognised the error of my ways as my rambunctious three-year-old’s eyes widened, sparkled, and then started to look around for something he could use to enter the roleplay.
“Full power!” “Let’s go, go, go!” “Ready?” “Full power!” “C’mon guys, it’s time to fly.” “Time to fix!” “Leeeeet’s do this!” And every other line he knows from kids’ shows, songs, and stories about adventure, construction, transport, rescues and emergency situations.
My quiet cup of tea that morning was to the sound of the weedeater outside backed up by the sound of the vacuum cleaner on the inside. The weedeater droned and sputtered along in a pleasant sort of way that promised shorter grass and a neater garden. The vacuum cleaner buzzed as little fingers flicked switches, vacuumed up toys for fun, and continuously turned the power up and down, up and down, up and down.
I’m always grateful that a cup of hot rooibos with lemon has such a calming effect on my senses. It’s a lifeline to have a sensory overload solution handy for these kinds of days. I know I’ll miss these loud, hands-on hours with my boys when they’re stoic teenagers staring at their feet instead of willingly getting on with household cleaning tasks.
Will we still be able to enjoy our lovely weekend mornings on the porch? The sun comes up over the ridge, just enough to warm the seats and dry off the dew on the balustrade. Then it rises high up over the roof in the heat of the day so that you can sit in the shade and look for birds or buck in the forest, gorge and macadamia groves beyond.
The vacuum cleaner game didn’t last too long and the weedeater faded off into the far side of the property. The mommy Amethyst sunbird that’s built her nest on the wire fish finally braved coming to feed the hatchlings again. I’ve lost count of how many broods she’s raised on our porch now. It’s nice to have another mommy close by who’s also got responsibilities.
The boys moved the roleplaying to the sandpit, and started emptying the rain tank again. But now that the lounge is relatively clean after a vacuum, there’s more time to watch the sunbird and sip on another cup of hot tea.
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