Car Talk

My first car was a Honda Civic that I got back in high school in the early 90s.  I was very fortunate to have it, but I'm pretty convinced my parents bought it to preserve my mom's sanity.  I'm sure she was thrilled to get a break from hauling my ass everywhere...

Once I received that car, I made the obligatory promise to myself to keep the thing clean, well preserved, and neat.  That lasted about 8 hours; apparently my normal state is chaos, at least when it comes to a car.  No matter how much I tried, I could not keep that car neat.  There were school papers and books, napkins, tennis rackets, clothes, and all manner of other crap that accumulated in the trunk, back seat, and front seat of that car.  I assumed at the time that once I was a "grown up," I would probably keep my car much nicer and cleaner.  You know, 'cause that's what adults do.

Right. 

I don't think I've kept a car clean for more than a few days in my entire driving life.  It's just not in my makeup.  The people whose cars always are immaculate baffle me - I just don't live like that.  My life is not immaculate, and my car sure as hell isn't.  It would almost be hypocritical for me to have a clean car, really.  My life is hectic, frantic, messy, disorganized, fast moving, a little worn around the edges, and my car reflects that quite nicely.  It's comfortable. 

There are typically several items in my car on any given day:  tennis rackets, a pair of jeans, a pair of tennis shoes, a container of work papers, a diet coke (or several), two car seats (I won't even go into what all is involved in that; half eaten pancakes are usually the least of my worries there), socks (of varying sizes), softball equipment (cleats, bats, or glove, or all three), and the occasional detritus of fast food meals that haven't yet made it out of the car and into the trash can. 

The plus side of this rather messy situation is that I'm usually ready for anything.  Take today, for example.  I've been in Houston since Sunday, and have slept in my normal bed at my friends' M&G's house exactly twice (that's my home base when I travel, and they are rock stars for letting me crash there regularly).  My suitcase, some work clothes, and other assorted stuff are currently residing at their house, although I haven't slept there since Monday night.  As I'm talking on the phone to J this morning, he asks if I really need to stop there on my way out of town tonight.  Well, of course I do - I need to get my stuff, right?  Then I pause and think about it.  J is right.  Everything I could possibly need for the next several days is already IN THE CAR.

I guess it's time to clean the thing out again.  But thinking positive, that's one less stop I'll have to make on the way home.