The Car Epiphany

Growing up, I remember my yi-ma and her clean and organized home.  When I opened her cabinets to find a towel, everything was not only neatly folded and in its place, but there were labeled storage containers with pills and band-aids, and all sorts of orderly identified items.  It was mesmerizing.  I was hooked.  However, I remember being a little intimidated in her car because it was so immaculate, and we were not allowed to eat in there. 

Fast forward to life with three kids, and our car was a cess pool of goldfish crumbs, conjoined fruit snacks, spoiled milk, and random toys in knick knacks corners I never knew even existed in cars!  Who knew a car could have so much space for crap?!  Alas, it seemed all the parents we knew were in the same boat. 

And then it happened.  We had a car epiphany.  Well, first we heard Andy's sister had a no eating in the car rule.  We were floored.  And intrigued.  And in order to keep up with them, we opted to join in!  It was hard at first, definitely a drastic change from stuffing our kids full of snacks whenever they whined.  Plus, I never imagined I would be a "no eating in the car" type of adult, but I make exceptions and it's been...  a year and a half, and it has been amazing.  Our car is still messy, but not as bad as it would be if we allowed eating.  We definitely make exceptions, but if we didn't have the no eating rule, it would be even worse.  As I was doing yet another sock retrieval from the van, I realized there are a few things I do for van upkeep, which is hilarious since the van is still disgusting.  Just NOT as disgusting as it would be without.  Trash into a bag pretty much everyday, sock and toy retrieval once every few days, and when time permits, we get over to the car wash (Dagny hates the carwash so we barely go these days) and vacuum too.  I think we'll do that tomorrow while Dagny's at school. The only reason I even want to share this is to remind my kids and encourage my friends to try a no eating rule also.  It's doable!  I mean, if we can do it, anyone can!