Hendrix is in the corner of our office, standing grey and tall, sucking the beauty from the room as usual.
My wife would like to replace him with a plant but it’s the only place he’ll fit – the cupboards in our new apartment are too small for Hendrix.
This wasn’t an issue in our previous home, as we kept Hendrix out of sight in a large walk-in cupboard when we didn’t need him.
So for a year and a half, Hendrix, our vacuum cleaner and his six-foot aluminium pipe that makes storing him out of sight impossible, has lived in the corner of our office. He hangs over my wife as she works at her computer with our dog curled around her ankles, shedding hair and dirt.
But today, somehow, somewhy, I noticed the Achilles heel in his hard metal and plastic exterior… his aluminium pipe is telescopic! Which means I can now cut him down to half his proud length and shove him in a cupboard. And in his place, we’ll put a beautiful Areca palm or a large fig plant.
The solution to my problem was right in front of me. But the habit of never needing to use the telescopic feature in my previous homes and the limited space in my new home prevented me from seeing the solution.
I wonder how many other problems have solutions that are right under my nose – opportunities waiting for me to notice them.