Zoom, Zoom

My wife's car is a pigsty.  All the time.  I can spend hours at the car wash; vacuuming, wiping, shampooing and tossing out trash to give her a clean, organized car.  But within three hours, it will, once again, be cluttered with papers, coffee mugs, toys, and countless other types of litter.  I've often imagined a day when I call A&E and have them conduct a special "Car Hoarders" episode.  In the episode, family members (me) would, in front of the cameras, hold an intervention, full of tears and sobbing the phrase, "You need help!"  To which, my wife would defiantly reply, "I don't have a problem!  I NEED all this stuff in my car!"  And I'm sure that at the end of the episode, across the black screen in courier font, the update would read, "Since the taping of the episode, Gina was able to successfully keep her car clutter free for 48 hours.  But after two days, she relapsed and started hoarding once again.  Justin has begun crying himself to sleep in the garage every night, wondering how it could all be possible..."

And the worst situation, as a man, is when I swap vehicles with her for the day.  My car, for the most part, is fairly "trash-free."  My front seat is passenger ready at any given time, and my trunk is clear and able to haul any grocery store conquest on a moment's notice.  But (and any man can relate) if you give a wife/mother your car for an afternoon, it will come back to you in her own state of chaotic ruins.  It drives us insane.  What did you do today that would constitute leaving this much clutter and junk all over my car? 

It's that question, though, that we never really think about the answer to.  "What did you do today?"  There is a reason why there is everything in your car.  Because they just spent the day doing everything.  I wake up, go to work, drink a cup of coffee on the way, take my cup inside with me, and come home in the evening.  My day's activities involving my car are limited.  My wife, on the other hand, has an average day that goes like this:  Wake up, get the kids fed, get them dressed, load the diaper bag, gather up toys for car ride, take a quick shower, run out the door, drop off at day care, run and pay a bill, grab a McCafe from the drive-thru, work half the day, run home to let the dog out and grab a bite to eat as she runs back out the door, go pay more bills, run copies at front office, go back to her office, meet with youth group kids, run back home to let dog out again, Sonic "Happy Hour,"pick up from daycare, run to the store, collect permission slips for youth group trip, go home and make dinner.  And that's not even including the "at-home" activities.

I don't always remember how much my wife does throughout each day...every day...all day long.  But with all that she executes, there is bound to be some residual clutter left over in her car.  And I have to remind myself that sometimes.  She is an amazing woman.  And if she needs me to clean out her car for her from time to time, that is the least that I can do for her. 

Now, if only I could get her to find some connection between my strong work ethic and the fact that I leave my wet towels on the bedroom floor...