Our son has no fear. Thunderstorms? Annoying only because they keep him from sleeping. Strangers? Never met one, especially if they are female. He loves the ladies. Dogs? Fluffy friends known as “ba-bas” that are fun to watch and point at. Heights? No problem. If he can find a way to pull himself to a higher plane, he will. His latest trick is multi-level climbing, such as floor to Daddy’s office chair to Daddy’s built-in desk. There’s just one gap in his armor, one tiny weakness that will send him running toward Mommy with a terrified look on his face:
The vacuum cleaner.
I don’t know what it is about vacuum cleaners and small critters. Brenden hates ours. Holly hates it. Jedda hates it. Sure, they are loud, but they are also very useful and can’t hurt you unless you accidentally run over your own toe with the brush (not recommended). But Brenden freaks out. There, his secret is out. This tells us two things:
- We need to vacuum more.
- If Brenden is awake, the only way to get any peace and quiet without leaving the room is to fire up the vacuum, which pretty much defeats the purpose.
So until we can help him understand that vacuum cleaners are all bark and no bite, we are ironically forced to vacuum while he is napping.
BONUS TIP FOR PARENTS: If Brenden shows up one afternoon after naptime wanting to take your daughter out for blueberries and Goldfish, you know what to do. Some dads like to clean the shotgun or show off their concealed weapon permit to scare off the boys. All you have to do is bust out the Hoover.