The Suck

Destroying toys on the area rug

When you’re adulting, it really is all about the small things in life.  Now that I have an animal that lives in our house, I have a new level of appreciation for the relief and calm that a clean house can bring to one’s mind.  Despite having hardwoods downstairs, the amount of dirt, dust, dander, hair that collects on our large area rug in the living room is obscene.  At 32 lbs, Bowie is now half the size that he will be when he’s full grown and even with a short coat, hair streams off of him.  He also likes to collect grass, dirt clods, and sticks and bring them into the house.

Big Bowie

Bryan and I both travel for work and my last international trip ended at the exact hour that Bryan’s five day trip started.  I was jet lagged and exhausted, then immediately jumped into a puppy filled weekend.  My free time is eaten up by dog park visits, regular park visit, dog play dates, dog sitting for our neighbors, trips out to the barn to restock Mae’s supplements and check that the poor girl is still sweating in the Texas heat.  Because of all the time the horses spend outside in the summer, her mane and coat are sun bleached and she’s undergoing her second cycle of shedding.

I come home sweaty, itchy from fire ant bites from the park, mosquito bites popping up everywhere, and covered from head to toe in both horse and dog hair.  Jumping into the shower after a long, hot, and humid day outside is one of the simple joys of summertime.  It is unfortunate that I can’t throw my house into the shower or take a power washer to the downstairs.  Instead, before I left for London, I bought a new, professional grade vacuum cleaner.  This one specifically.  And it SUCKS in a really good way.  It’s disgusting and incredibly satisfying to look at the full canister after every vacuum session (which is Every Damn Day) and see the amount of dirt and dust that’s collected over a 24 hour period.

And now my area rug is finally clean!  And dirt and bug-free!  It’s actually fluffy again and looks like when I first bought it three years ago.  It is a very grown up thing to attribute one’s sanity to a vacuum cleaner but I’ll take those little wins these days.

*Note, I am not being sponsored by Shark for this post. It's just a damn good vacuum