The Hoover mom (that’s me) wants to recognize an unlikely hero. Someone who is often taken for granted at the Hoover’s house and probably at other houses as well.

The Hoover mom wants to recognize her Neighborhood Garbage Man who saved the life of her and her youngest son just last week.

The Hoovers are the children of the Hoover parents. They are called “The Hoovers” because they are like high-powered vacuums. They suck up everything around them, including the life out of the Hoover parents.

The Hoover mom and dad have adopted a slew of children from foster care. They didn’t set out to end up with six. But the Hoover parents believe siblings who have been placed in foster care should be together.

And it just so happens that the six Hoovers all have special needs – which results in the Hoover mom’s special level of stress.

One afternoon last week, the Hoover mom gathered the five younger Hoovers to ride to pick up the oldest Hoover who attends high school. The younger Hoovers attend school with the Hoover mom. They follow her nearly everywhere she goes – except for this one time when cooperation was not in the cards for everyone.

One of the Hoovers, the youngest boy, got some sort of wild hair and decided he was NOT getting into the Suburban. There was no cajoling, no hollering, no threats, no chases and no retreats that were going to get him into that car. The Hoover mom knows that because she tried everything she knew. For some unknown reason, he had decided to assert his 9 year old with autism independence right there in the front yard.

The closer the Hoover mom got to him, the further he ran. When she would retreat, so would he. Cat and mouse at play out in the front yard with the wayward child even running out into the street without looking. For nine years, he had been told to look before he crossed the street, but he had gone stark raving mad.

The Hoover mom didn’t know it, but the Neighborhood Garbage Men were watching the whole scenario play out. They heard the Hoover mom go so far as to cuss the child as a last resort (something she’s not proud of). But she was desperate. Was she to drive off with him in the yard and pick up the 17 year old (who has special needs himself), or was she to unload everybody and get the wayward child back into the house and call the school to tell the 17 year old “good luck getting home”?

The Hoover mom was without answers. She became speechless. The Hoover mom is rarely speechless.

And then, help came from out of nowhere. the Neighborhood Garbage Man must have realized that the situation was not going to change without his help. Either that or the ridiculousness of the behavior just overcame him. Not knowing the child’s name, he just walked right up to him and said in a good, deep voice, “BOY! YOU’D BETTER LISTEN TO YOUR MOMMA!” And with that, he picked him up, carried him across the yard and put him into the Suburban head first. The Hoover mom knew to place him in the very back seat between the 11 and 12 year old, and one would have thought that the Garbage Man read her mind because that’s where he got put.

The Hoover mom was so relieved to have physical custody of the wayward child and to be able to get on her way to pick up the high school Hoover, that she forgot to ask the Garbage Man his name. She was still a bit speechless, also.

However, she can say right here, without reservation, that the Garbage Man saved the lives of the Hoover mom and the wayward Hoover child. She now pictures this man emerging from his garbage truck, wearing a cape, saving the day, and then leaving the scene, Superman-like, without hearing the acknowledgement of his actions, and returning to his “regular job” he performs when he’s not out helping the community as a superhero.

Thank you Garbage Man!

Learn more about Stephanie

Read more from the Parents Panel:

• Children should live the dream . . .
• Character matters most
• A funny thing happened on New Year’s Day
• New year, new attitude
• Confessions of a preschool dropout
• Resolutions or solutions?

Categories: *Are All of Those Yours?! by Stephanie Trevitz, All Articles, Hot Topics, Parents Panel
Tags: features