What Does Your Car Say About You?

10/8/2012

What Does Your Car Say About You?

Have you ever passed by someone's parked car and looked inside (and you know you have) and was literally blown away the accumulation inside?  I have seen cars filled with used coffee cups, tissues, fast food wrappers, gym bags, food crumbs, newspapers, clothes bound for the cleaners (hopefully) and even their mail.  I recently had to ride with someone and in order for me to get in the front seat, they had to literally empty the passenger seat and floor before I could sit down.

Cars with car seats means a parent or grandparent.  That's simple.  I have Ben's car seat (correction booster seat now since he's a big boy) bolted in the back.  Also, a minivan is generally an indication of a soccer mom - young children, carpools and sports equipment.  I owned several of those "Mom" mobiles until the boys thankfully became old enough to drive and I could return to a less obvious, and more fun to drive, car.

Inside of my car - in you're wondering - isn't much.  There is a small box in the way back that houses an extra sweater, umbrella, emergency blanket and a rain hat.  In the winter I add an ice scraper to the mix.  There are a few small toys sitting in Ben's car seat waiting for his return and a children's book in the side pocket of the door.  The DVD is preloaded with Ben's favorite movie "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" which I believe Jeff and I could now recite word for word!

During my daily commute I don't drink or eat anything and I strongly discourage others from doing so.  I'm in my car to drive - period.  I don't want crumbs or a spill on the seats or carpet.  Years ago I sold an old Volvo to a friend of our mechanic.  The buyer of my car apparently spent a weekend taking out the seats so that he could clean under them.  He found nothing, not even a run away M&M.  He was amazed.  I was not.

When Ben came along I relaxed my eating and drinking rules a bit, partly for the sanity it afforded me during our commute.  Once he was old enough he loved to eat raisins or drink milk from a cup while enjoying the scenery from the interstate.  I learned to live with the occasional drops of milk from a sippy cup and tried to remember to pick up loose raisins when we got home and BEFORE they were ground into the carpet.  Today, when Ben is riding in my car a trip to McDonald's is high on his list.  He always orders chicken nuggets, French fries, chocolate milk and the toy of course.  I ALWAYS sit in the backseat to help him maneuver the food and in particular the milk.  For a four year old he's actually pretty neat and so far (fingers crossed) have never had a chocolate milk spill (for which I'm grateful)!

What does your car say about you?