Mother's Little Helper

Children really brighten up a household - they never turn the lights off. ~Ralph Bus

I walked around the mounds on the floor, purposely wandering my gazes off somewhere else. I was in no mood to clear up the mess left by the disaster yesterday.

“Mummy, how come I saw these stacks on the floor yesterday, and they are still here today?” asked Angel innocently.

Luckily my ears and mind had auto-shutdown. I walked towards my laptop, my source of de-stressor. No answers from me.

Angel was used to my obliviousness and skipped around me regardlessly without expecting an answer.

She pranced upon the vacuum cleaner I left sprawled behind me while I was staring at my laptop screen intently.

“Mummy, I help you vacuum the floor ok?”

This time, she managed to choke a strained grunt out of my throat. My eyes still fixed on the glaring screen.

Angel hopped away with the vacuum in hand and maneuvered the vacuum cleaner around the house with pride.

“Mummy, please help to remove the plug from the wall socket. I want to vacuum Brother’s room next,” chirped the delighted girl after ten minutes.

It took a while before my auto-shutdown was deactivated. Sensing no response from me, Angel activated her auto-reply, “Never mind, I’ll vacuum a little more around her first.”

She bounced a metre away and attempted to steer the vacuum cleaner around the mounds on the floor in front of my wardrobe.

Feeling guilty, I tore my eyes away from the screen, lifted my heavy rear from the seat and helped her to unplug the vacuum cleaner. Not before carefully examining her flushed face and drops of sweat glistening on the tip of her nose. Isn’t she adorable!

As if glad to finally get my attention, Angel blabbered with a wide grin on her face,

“I’ve helped you to vacuum your bedroom, the living room and the kitchen. Now I’ll vacuum my room and Brother’s room. Later I want to help you to mop the floor too!”

Feeling ashamed of myself, I urged myself into the kitchen to hang up the laundry left in the washing machine.

Within minutes, Angel zoomed past me into the bathroom and filled a bucket with water and floor detergent. I handed her the mop and she zipped past me like a jubilant runner, about to cross the finishing line.

As I finished hanging my clothes, Angel returned to the kitchen with an accomplished look on her face.

“Mummy, I have helped you to vacuum the bedrooms, the living room and the kitchen. I’ve also helped you to mop the bedrooms, the living room and the kitchen.”

She wiped the glorified sweat from her forehead. There was a remarkable shine in her big round eyes.

“Can you please let me play on your laptop?”