Pages

Friday, June 3, 2011

Mom, Is Your Car a Mess? (Gulp)

Something happened to me today that was a powerful reminder of how much I have for which to be thankful. I pulled into my parking space at the restaurant, hungry, and ready to run in and eat lunch, but was unprepared for what I would see in the car next to mine. The front and rear passenger seats were filled to WINDOW LEVEL with empty cups, cans, takeout bags, piles of restaurant napkins, and general dining trash! I sat speechless for no less than five full minutes. What story does this person have? No one can ever ride with them in this vehicle, and they obviously haven't had a home cooked meal in some time. Did someone the owner of the car loved pass away? Are they without family? How lonely it must be to ride around in that cluttered car! Did the owner plan to come back to that car at all today? While inside enjoying a special lunch (all by myself), I scanned the room, wondering who was the owner of the vehicle.

How many times have you caught yourself saying, "Sorry,  my car is a mess!"? (Do you have a car to drive...?) Next time, why not jot down (or text yourself, call and leave a voicemail, or SOMEHOW record) your thoughts and feelings!

If you need to take action to make your car more pleasant, why not post a list like this on your visor:

Things I Wished I Remembered to Do When I Didn't Have a Friend or Guest Riding in My Car


-Get an air freshener to mask any uncertain odors
-Have the car vacuumed every now and then!
-Run through an automatic wash, or at least spray the car down with the hose (if you splash enough, the kids might enjoy "helping!")
-Empty the car of trash every time I get gas.
-Invest in products that help keep things together in the car, or use what I have (like pretty boxes or plastic containers) to corral things.
-Always remember that the people in my car and the memories we are making are more important than the stuff inside. Maintaining our vehicle to the best of my ability without being a grumpy perfectionist (or forgetting to ask for help!) is still important, and will support having more happy times in spite of the mess.


Sniff.

7 comments:

  1. That is unfortunate. I would be mortified if my car was that bad. Sometimes, I think that it could use some picking up, but never to that point. I do empty trash at the gas station!~Lisa Following from VoiceBoks!

    I am all a twitter about life
    Find Me on Twitter

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's good to look around sometimes and realize there are people in a place in life that is tougher than our own. I bet you wanted to clean that car out for the owner. I know I would have.

    Visiting from VoiceBoks...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I totally empty all the trash out of my car everytime I gas up!?!? It is amazing to me that more people don't do this!!

    I'm following from voiceBoks! Feel free to drop by my blog when you have a chance www.alwaysjustamom.blogspot.com!!!

    Looking forward to learning more about you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. @ April I did indeed hope that the owner would come out and ask for help. I can't imagine the trunk!The individual would really have needed to go straight to the dump!

    @S.Greiner good for you! I have indeed visited your fun blog! And thanks for the follow.

    tweet me your biggest organizational hangup
    @shelleymolitor and I will give you a tweet coach response!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi! I'm a new follower from VoiceBoks! Great timing for this post! My car was such a mess ... but I gave it a full clean out over the weekend. Now I just have to see how long I can keep it clean! No more popcorn or goldfish crackers in the car! Lol!!

    Ro :)
    Have YOU had YOUR Mom-ME Moment today?
    http://www.MommyMindSpa.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. new follower from voiceboks, still need a good detailing for my car..from salt and eeky stuff from winter..

    www.flagphil.blogpost.com , hope you stop by sometime

    ReplyDelete
  7. @FLAG, kahit mali ang link mo (dapat blogspot at hindi blogpost), I found you anyway! Welcome!

    @Ro, have visited you before, LOVE the Mom-ME concept! Self-Care comes first!

    ReplyDelete