It was Time

I took the day off today to dspend with my girl on a Field Trip to Minnetrista in Muncie.  After the field trip, I decided that it was time to have my car cleaned out.  And when I say "cleaned out" ... I mean, by someone that is not me professionals.  I'd hauled a bale of straw to my house a few weeks ago and still had remnants of it on the floor boards of my car.  Mix that with some spilled chips from the other night's football game and you have... well... my car.

So, I decided to take it to Bob's Car Wash and get "Full Service" for $18.  Yes, I could've saved the $18 and used the little hose thing to vacuum the floors, but by the time I got the car cleaned out enough to take it to the Full Service place... I just wasn't in the mood.

Yes, I said cleaned out enough to take it to the Full Service.

Is that bad?

 ... that I had to clean out my car in order to get it cleaned out?

To those of you that know and love me, that statement won't surprise you in the least.  Most likely, you're feeling a range of emotions from disgust, empathy, amusement, sadness and wonder. 

Believe me.

I feel the same way.

How can I manage to raise two half-way-normal children, yet never ever ever manage to keep my car in an acceptable condition?  I cannot answer that either.

But I feel your pain.  As I was spending a good five to ten minutes pre-cleaning my car, I was shaking my head at myself, wondering HOW this happens!?  I try so, so hard!!

But I'm good at other things, right? 

Surely I can score some points there?!?



So, I take her to the car wash and get in the little conveyor belt thing and ride through the car wash.  At the end, they motion for me to pull over to the full service area.  I exit my car and try to keep my 'cool' composure about the crap all over the floor. 

...almost as though I didn't realize it was there until JUST THEN.  I made a comment like, "Do you want me to get all that stuff out, or just put it on the seat?" 

I'm pretty sure the guy said he'd put it all in the back.

I didn't have the heart to tell him the back was nearly full.   Surely they'd seen something as obnoxious as this before.

Doesn't everyone have:

-folding chairs, blankets and pom-poms for football games.
-books and baby dolls to keep the little sister occupied during said football games
-books to keep the mom occupied whilst waiting for said football games.
-trucks that the football player transports from pappaws to daddy's and back to my house
-a box of capri suns because ... well ... you just never know, ok?

You get the drift.

There was a lot of stuff.

Now, I am not in any position to judge, but I have to set the stage here.

The people that were waiting to clean out my car... God love them.... they humbled me. 

I'm sitting there, a woman with a good job, a pretty nice car, etc - and I pull in, after paying $18 for someone else to do something for me that I can clearly do... and these people are there to clean up my mess.

I don't know their story.  We all have one, and theirs, I do not know.  However... they seemed to be people that took a lot of pride in their work and were probably just thankful to have a job; period.

I watched through the mirrored glass as they efficiently cleaned out my car.  Treating it as if it was their own vehicle that needed cleaned.  And I thought about the fact that I think sometimes, well - probably more than sometimes, I take my blessings for granted.

It was a HUGE eye opener for me; primarily because I am so thankful for everything that I have, but sometimes I may not appreciate it as much as I should.  And additionally because, no matter how much those people cleaning my car make per hour, they were just happy to have a job.  Shouldn't we all be that way?