The Car

I'm a car person and I also have a great appreciation for a well-cleaned car. I came by it honestly as my dad was and my uncle is a car person. My dad taught me how to wash the car and detail the inside, and I remember spending Saturday afternoons washing my beloved Jeep Wrangler in the driveway, scrubbing the tires and hubcaps, and spraying Armorall on the interior. One time in high school, I went to NAPA Autoparts and bought replacement wipers and headlights. On my way out, the salesman asked if I would need help installing them, and I told him that no, thank you, I would be just fine. And I absolutely was.

If you looked in my car before last week or any time in the last year or so, there would no indication that I even know how to clean a car, much less that I value organization in any way, shape, or form. My car was filled with countless toys, mismatched shoes, a few receipts, and a lot of other miscellaneous items. The floor badly needed vacuuming. It overwhelmed me.

That is, until Jake, unbeknownst to me, emptied my car one night last week before he took it in to get serviced. Then he used a Groupon to get it thoroughly detailed. AHHHHH do you see that there are only two items other than carseats??? A diaper bag and Abby Jane's back pack. Every time I have gotten into my car since then, I feel an almost spa-like zen in the lack of chaos.

I now remember that I am a car person and I love my car enough to take better care of its interior, and I pledge to be more responsible. I now have a rule I am keeping with Nazi-like seriousness that we will bring NO TOYS to the car. There already toys in my "bag of fun" that I keep in the front seat to throw back to fussy children. We need no more.

When Jake brought the car home, he said it was now up to me as to how I choose to "re-populate" it. I plan to re-populate with responsibility and exclusivity.

By the way, I have the best husband in the world.