Some might call me a neat freak. Some might call me OCD (eh hmm – mom, I’m calling you out here). I like to think of it all as being tidy and organized. It has served me well most of my life, especially now that I have kids. The truth is, I like things kept and presented a certain way. My car, for instance, is pearly white. The interior is fresh and smells like Hawaiian breeze. My children’s toys are neatly placed in the seat pockets and blankets are folded neatly between them.
Truthfully, does any of this really matter? Does anyone really care about what’s in the back of my car?
Here’s the real truth about what’s in the back of my car. Gold. Pure, priceless gold. Well, to me at least. The kind of gold that still thinks I’m funny and can belt out a good tune. The gold that will talk a mile a minute or pass out cold as soon as we get moving. You see this pure, priceless gold can make me crack a smile with even the slightest giggle or funny face in my rear view mirror.
So here’s the funny thing about the real truth about what’s in the back of my car: it really doesn’t matter if it’s neat and organized. My gold doesn’t care if there’s a misplaced sock or toy or cracker under the seat. It only matters that this precious, priceless gold of mine stays safe. That it makes it from Point A to Point B in one piece, without a scratch. That it stays pure and unharmed.
The truth is, I will watch as those little faces in the back of my car, now falling asleep in their car seats, grow up. Pretty soon that precious gold of mine won’t need a car seat at all. Pretty soon, one will be asking for friends to squeeze in; the other may be loading sports equipment in the back of the car. In the blink of an eye, I will be training my precious gold to always pay attention to what’s around the car, but this time I’ll be in the passenger seat. Before I know it, I’ll be loading the back of my car with all the belongings of my precious gold. And as I look at the empty back of my car, the college campus fading in the distance, I will know that it kept that gold safe.
So, in the cold days when I’m shivering, the rainy days when I’m getting soaking wet, and those hot days when the sun is beating down, I’ll make sure to take the time to strap that precious gold down in the back of my car. Maybe even check those straps a few extra times. I might still keep it ‘OCD’ clean but maybe I’ll also care a little less about the stray sock, toy, or cracker. Because you see to me, there is no specific value to this precious gold, it is simply irreplaceable and priceless. That is the real truth about what’s in the back of my car.
