Our Roomba has been getting stuck in a new spot lately, so that’s my cue to do two things. One, move the Roomba to a new spot. Two, find some deeper meaning in a mundane situation.
If you have a Roomba, you may or may not be able to relate. I suspect most of you Roomba owners reading this have the pricey version with all the bells and whistles like sensors, phone apps and self-emptying technology. We, on the other hand, am on my second basic model Roomba.
I Have Needs
About five years ago, I was determined to convince hubby we needed a Roomba. I was tired of our floors looking like a desert of yard sand and pet hair tumbleweeds by the end of each week. I also knew, after trial and error, that I was not disciplined enough to vacuum and/or Swiffer each day. So, the Roomba I’d been eying for years, became increasingly appealing.
Once convinced of the need, now hubby needed to be convinced of the purchase. We weren’t sure if we would like it or if it would stand up to our level of sand and pet hair, so we dipped our toe in and bought the basic model. To our delight, it worked and after about a week of daily use, we were in floor care maintenance.
Now, I mentioned that the basic model we had does not have any sensors or fences or any of the fancy technology that makes it smarter about where to go and not go in our house. So, basically we have the Roomba equivalent of the high school graduate taking on an entry level job. It is smart enough to tackle basic tasks, needs a bit of monitoring and might need a bit more direction than an older employee with more experience.
Bad Tech
Roomba loves to be in the kitchen, especially when we are in the kitchen. If we are not in the kitchen, it seems to travel pretty randomly throughout the house. My husband is convinced that it follows him and intentionally tries to trip him up or eat his toes if he’s standing somewhere with no shoes on.
It’s supposed to run on some sort of logic and patterning that tells it how to do its job most efficiently and then head back to its base when it’s almost time to recharge. I can say with almost 100% confidence that this has happened only a handful of times. And in those handful of times, it could not successfully get back on the charger by itself. It mostly pushed the charger around and finally gave up, charger and Roomba resting at odd angles in the middle of our entryway.
Roomba is programmed with some warning messages when there is a problem and these are audible if you are close enough or can run across the house to find it and hear what it’s saying:
- STUCK SOMEWHERE: “Move Roomba to a new location then press CLEAN to start.”
- PET HAIR OVERLOAD: “Spin Roomba’s side wheels to clean.”
- BATTERY DEAD: “Please charge the Roomba”.
A Little Help Please?
Lately we’ve been hearing the stuck alert a LOT. And almost every time, Roomba has climbed halfway onto the welcome mat where we place our cat’s food and water bowls. At first, I was perplexed. Had something changed? Did we move the mat and put it in a position that was causing this to happen. Nope and nope.
Roomba just decided that the mat did indeed look quite welcoming and headed that way. So now, every day during Roomba-ing time, I hear “Move Roomba to a new location then press CLEAN to start.” at least 2-3 times. Even after I pick it up and carry it all the way to the other side of the house. Somehow, it hears the siren song, gets off course and crashes up onto that darn mat again.
A stuck Roomba is not the end of the world, but it is a bit annoying. And when it’s stuck, it’s not being used for its intended purpose. We have plenty of gadgets sitting around the house, unused. We don’t need another for sure. It’s still perfectly serviceable, it has just gotten into a habit of heading in a direction that isn’t helpful.
Don’t Look at Me!
I suspect a bird’s eye view of my life would look painfully similar. Making the same mistakes over and over again. Going back into situations and relationships I know have the potential to be problematic. “But this time, things will be different.” Only to get stuck again. Spinning my wheels and sending out SOS messages so I can get back on track again.
And I swear this next part is true. As I’m sitting here typing this, Roomba is trying desperately to come into my office. I don’t want it here, so I put my foot up to block it. It moves a little to the left, blocked again. A little more to the left, blocked again. I give it a big shove and it goes out into the hallway, only to make another attempt to enter. Shutting the door seems to be the only way to get the message across.
That’s me too. Stubborn. Not listening or not believing when I’m getting a clear message that “this room is not for me”. I have to say, I’m pretty darn tenacious, almost to a fault. I will keep trying until the door is closed, locked and deadbolted.
It hurts, but eventually I find a way to be grateful for the firm redirection.
The Doors
It’s then I have the perspective to see that doors aren’t always to shut us out, they are to stop us from going in. It sounds like the same thing, but there is an important distinction.
When I believe I’m being shut out, I can make it mean I’m being hurt. Denied something I should be able to have.
When I believe I’m being stopped from going in, I can make it mean I’m being protected. Kept away from something that isn’t for me.
So now, when the doors of life are slammed in my face, I may still need to take a moment to reorient. But then I can move forward. I still have plenty of battery life and I know I can be useful wherever I decide to go next.
Betsy is a certified life coach and blogger who helps midlife women find satisfaction where they are now and inspiration to go after their big goals.
To learn more about working with Betsy, click here.