Once a year, there is a secret meeting of dust bunnies under my couch. They gather their hairy friends together and discuss things like secret hiding places, how to run from a vacuum cleaner, proper tumbling techniques and how to sneak out of the line of sight of the humans. This year’s keynote speaker was a proud, freshly shed dog hair, who discussed all of the above as he had seen it from the back of the hound prior to landing in his new home- a bumble of assorted dirt and debris. They know who to fear and give accurate descriptions of who is after them- not the tall human, but the shorter one in the slippers. “The dog is good- he creates more of us” they declare, then smile their devious smiles.

Before they roll out of their conference, they team up and hold hand (safety in numbers)… and creep their own separate ways, into corners, crevices and stairways. In the end, the fate for those who are seen is hideous and they end up in a dark, dank place with nowhere to run and ultimate tragedy waits.

But, alas (sigh), many of them survive and go on to live happy, dust bunnie lives, and every year return to the secret couch meeting..more portly, and corpulent then before, .. to brush up on their hiding skills and laugh at the human in the slippers.