My faithful hound Sambo throws off his coat every time he enters the house. I have tried to talk him into hanging up his coat, but he has more fun shaking and scattering his coat on the floor. I have a hardwood floor that is brown. Apparently Sambo wants carpeting that is white because that is what my floor looks like when Sambo throws his coat on the floor.

After Sambo takes off his coat he trots to the kitchen for a treat. He shakes his paw and rolls over and devours whatever tender morsel is waiting for him. I, on the other hand, am left to ponder my white floor and the devastation he has left in his path.

I have tried everything. I have tried Norwex mops, Swiffer sweepers, my vacuum cleaner and the list goes on. It is a lot of work looking after Sambo. He always appreciates what I do and has a lick and hug for me, but somehow the frustration lingered on for me. Sambo would pick himself up after shaking himself off and start his merry journey all over again.

My frustration ended one evening as I watched a commercial for the iRobot Roomba. The iRobot Roomba was supposed to pick up pet hair and vacuum my rooms all by itself. I was desperate. President Bush told us to spend our tax rebate. I was going to buy a Roomba. Of course, I didn’t think this little machine could possibly work on Sambo’s hair, but it had a 30-day return policy so what did I have to lose.

I found a sale and brought iRobot home. I set him loose in my family room, and he criss-crossed the floor and Sambo’s hair was no more!

I tried to trick iRobot by putting up obstacles with chairs and small spaces, but he maneuvered through all of them with ease. At first I didn’t accomplish anything while iRobot was vacuuming because he was so much fun to watch. The man of the house reminded me that not only did I buy him so he would hang up Sam’s coat, but iRobot was supposed to save me time and not become my TV show. So reluctantly I have gotten used to doing other chores and sometimes lounging while Mr. French (my friend Gina said I had to name him) vacuums away. If you run into my husband after reading this article, please leave out the lounging part.

My son thought I should not have wasted my money on Mr. French. I reminded him that they have a cleaning lady. Mr. French makes me smile much more then a cleaning lady would.

I admire Sambo. I learn so much from him. Even though I do not like him throwing his coat on my floor, I have to admire the way he walks in the house and shakes off the troubles of his day. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all do that? Actually we all should do that.

Usually we walk into our homes carrying our problems from the day with us. If we have a problem with our boss, our family will know about it. If we have irate customers or we are worried about something, those problems and cares walk in the door with us. Since we can’t let them go they color our evening and our enjoyment of being at home with our family.

I want to be more like Sambo. I want to walk in the door and shake off the troubles of the day. I want to reward myself with a little treat to start my evening and wallow in a book or something that gives me enjoyment.

The next time you walk in the door from a frustrating day, shake yourself off, have a treat and do something nice for yourself. Imagine that you have Mr. French cleaning up all the troubles of the day that were left behind. And after you finish rolling over after you indulged in a treat, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again.

I hope you are smiling as you imagine yourself doing this, I am.

Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday.

E-mail her at thecolumn@

bevcomm.net.