vacuuming the soul

Many thanks to all the nice folks who helped me find vacuum cleaners for Ella's Christmas present. I was amazed that even strangers came forth with lovely maple and birch vacuums, vacuums that MY google searches could not even find. I still don't know what I'm going to get her. I'm torn between my utter hatred of plastic toys and her "vision" of her vacuum cleaner. You laugh, but I know that this one is important to her. Although it skipped a generation, vacuuming is in her genes. That maple vacuum that I love isn't going to cut it. If she had never seen another one, it would be fine. She even knows that plastic toys come from oil and will last ten million year spewing chemicals into the earth, but there is a part of her that just wants it to be a toy vacuum with buttons that makes a sound. Get over it mama. For a while I was just going to get her a real one, one that has batteries, maybe some Bissell flip something, mop on one side vacuum on the other. If there really is a Santa, though, he would get the red retro one from Pottery Barn. I think.