I can still recall the sound of my mother's vaccuming deep into the wee hours of the night. This was her inevitable routine after we were put to bed, particularly if she was expecting guests the following day. Snuggling deep below the blankets of my bed, the rhythmic "wrrrr"of the machine sucking up cherrios and barbie shoes from our living room carpet would gently lullaby me to sleep. I grew to live for the moments when I could hear my parents move up and about the house while I lay in my bed. Their feet echoing througout the house taking part in the mystical world of adults that exsisted beyond childhood bedtimes left me feeling safe and secure. Sleep found in the midst of those sounds was always the sweetest.
I'm nearly 30 years old now, but when I hear a vaccum running from the apartment below me I immediately feel quiet and at peace. If only there were a vacuum ready to serenade me at a given moment these days...because life is simply not always peaceful, is it?
I will confess that I'm rarely still enough to tune into the simple sounds of the world around me. The noise of social networking, computers in general and a busy school schedule keeps me so wrapped up in my own chaotic world that I miss the wind moving in the curtains...or the sound faint music down the street.
This morning I asked my husband if we could turn a fan on, even though it's cold enough to leave frost on the trees on through afternoon lately. I think it's that humming sound that reminds me of my Mom vaccuming that helps me fall asleep, a strange assurance that everything is okay.
Who knew that a vaccum would sound like peace. Life is funny that way.
