Get in my car and you may decide to quickly jump out.
Actually, a suburban with lots of car seats and lots of kids in it is what I drive.My suburban is my second home. I make a carpool run six times a day. I have four that play volleyball, two that play soccer, and one that plays football, just to name a few of the activities. All afternoon my car carries kids back and forth to ballet, tap, sports practice and every other activity that exists.
From the outside, my suburban looks clean and orderly. But the shirt hanging out of the back is a sign that this is not the cleanest vehicle around.
Does the cleanliness of a car define the type of person you are?
On any given day I can take comfort in the fact that, if a blizzard should occur in Florida and I am trapped with the children, we can survive for days.
There are times my mess has paid off.
Morning sickness can and will hit any time, day or night, as every mother knows. On a summer vacation, three months’ pregnant, five children in tow and driving down I-10, it was either throw up or take my chances with what I might find to eat. Luckily for me, in my car you are sure to find food – not all of it edible or distinguishable, but food. I found some crackers with a little crunch and a few Skittles (I think that is what they were) and I was good to go for another few hours.
Feeling much better, I noticed the dark clouds as we hit Jacksonville. The torrential downpour began, the lightning flashing, the thunder booming, and the kids all screaming. And then, my windshield wiper blade broke.
What do you do driving down the interstate in a downpour with no wipers? I am a mom, so quick thinking is the name of the game. I put on my Magyver thinking cap and came up with a brilliant solution. In my car there is always a diaper or two lying around (clean ones, mind you). I reached back, searched through the rubble and found what I needed to take me through Jacksonville.
My children still laugh and talk about the time Mommy put a diaper on the windshield wiper. They are learning to be creative and think quickly on their feet. And they are learning to laugh. That mess in the car is making memories for us as a family.
So maybe the people with the clean cars are not so smart after all. Maybe a mess is a sign of being prepared for life’s little bumps. I have a friend who is so kind that, when he gets in my car, he just smiles. Others see my car and think I am a slob, but he knows, like I do, that the definition of a person is in the heart, not the cleanliness of one’s car.
Maybe today I will clean out my car. No, I think I will play with my children instead.
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