What Prayer Can Do

Ok, I am not making fun of any one's religious beliefs. We all know I'm not the good Catholic that I once was, but it seems that some of the lessons pounded into me throughout my life have stuck with me!

Believe it or not, this is a story about my vacuum. I have an attachment for the vacuum that you hook on to the hose, and it turns the hose into a small hand held vacuum complete with the beater brush. This attachment I use to vacuum the carpet on the stairs. It's a pain in the ass as you still have to lug the main vacuum up and down the stairs with you, but the attachment is easier to maneuver back and forth on the individual steps than the main vacuum.

Our house isn't that big that I should lose stuff in it. Most things have their place, and I try to keep stuff in their place. I didn't say it was always a good place, but a place is a place! The vacuum itself for instance. I used to keep it in the closet at the foot of the stairs until that closet got too full and now the vacuum doesn't fit in there. So, when not in use, the vacuum is usually behind our bedroom door. Not the perfect place for it, but it's a place. I know where to find the vacuum and it's mostly out of sight and out of the way.

As for that attachment for the stairs. Its place is usually in the corner next to Ron's desk. Why? I have no idea! I think just because he's sort of at the top of the stairs, and that corner is out of the way, mostly out of sight, and I know where the attachment is when I need it.

Or so I thought.

Ron was the last one to vacuum the stairs. (Thanks, honey!) Then, the next time, I went to vacuum the stairs and I can't find the damn attachment. I tore the corner apart where I put the attachment when not in use, I routed around in the closet at the bottom of the stairs, I even looked in the drawers in the sewing machine as well as in the doors in the end tables in the living room. Why? Because it had to be somewhere and I was looking in spaces that were big enough to house the attachment, that's why!

Finally, I did the next logical thing. I asked Ron where he put the dang thing after he used it last! Surprise on me, he didn't use the attachment to do the stairs, he just lugged the big vacuum back and forth on the stairs! Wow! He told me HE couldn't find the attachment, so that's why he didn't use it.

I asked him to look around, it had to be somewhere! Ron went through the same motions I did. I had just cleaned our bedroom and the office, so I was pretty sure it wasn't in either of these rooms as I totally went through the rooms moving furniture and everything. But, he looked again anyway, even in the corner next to his desk where I usually put it. It's not there.

He also took everything out of the closet at the bottom of the stairs, and looked through the dining room and kitchen too. It was no where to be found.

We looked in with the electric blanket, through the dresser drawers, just about every where. Finally, my Catholic upbringing came back to me.

I explained to Ron that any time my Mom couldn't find anything, she'd say a prayer to St. Anthony, the patron saint of lost items. Well, this was a lost item and I wasn't above saying a prayer for it.

I uttered a quick hello to St. Anthony, and asked, if he wasn't too busy, to please help us out looking for my vacuum attachment.

Sure enough, after my prayer, Ron headed upstairs and guess what he found?!! The vacuum attachment!!! And, guess where! Right in the corner, next to his desk, that I cleaned through, looked through and he looked through! I swear it was NOT in that corner before! One fast prayer and there it was!

I'm not saying it was a miracle, but I'm telling you, as sure as I'm sitting here, that attachment was NOT there during the previous week that Ron and I were both searching for it.

Maybe I need to give this prayer thing another go. With that attachment missing, I haven't vacuumed the stairs because the big vacuum is too heavy for me to futz with doing it without the attachment. So, the last two times, Ron did the stairs! Bonus! So . . .

Hi, St. Anthony, it's me again! I hate to bother you again so soon, but if you're not too busy, could you please hide that attachment again? I really hate vacuuming those stairs!