The Mother (Car) Lode

It is a never ending battle, the quest for a clean car. Truthfully, I haven't even bothered trying to clean out my van for a couple of months. Once I get around to sprucing it up, I try and mandate the "don't take anything unnecessary into the car with you" rule.  Unfortunately, I always get thwarted somehow, by both my children and husband. And things that belong in the house start living and quite possibly even growing in my van.  Does it bother me? Perhaps the anal retentive side of me DOES shudder each and every time I climb into my van, but it has become one of those points where I try to choose my battles wisely. That being said, my mother and I had an  "interesting"conversation the other day.  We were discussing a friend that ended up having to rent her house, because in the depressed real estate climate it was impossible to sell the house outright. It turns out her renters have five children, and they are apparently tearing up the house.  I am not sure if having five kids equates to automatic rental house demise, or if these people just happen to live slovenly no matter how many children they have.  Though, I got the impression that my mom felt the kid count was a significant contributor to the problem.  I can't really argue that, because I am fully aware that my two children produce mess and chaos at a furious rate in my own home (and van).  It is the next part that I thought was less than subtle.  She went on to explain that if you want a good indicator of how your renter will take care of the rental property then you should look inside the renter's car.  That car care will show a correlation to rental care. I suppose I wouldn't have taken that personally, except that it was followed up with one of those "pointed mom looks", that conveys an entire, usually unflattering, nonverbal commentary.  Suddenly I found myself defending that family with five children, likening my own life to that of the harried mom who just doesn't have the energy to put up the fight over trivial things like clean cars, or picking up all the toys in the yard. I became the defender of every mom that has lost battles of orderliness and cleanliness in order to preserve family harmony. I find it ironic how quickly our parents forget the days of having little children that un-pot freshly potted plants, or mess up a room that you have just cleaned within minutes.  My own mom called me her little tornado at times. Yet, give them a few years of having a childless household and these memories start to fade into oblivion.  Since having my own children one of my favorite quotations has become, "Keeping your house clean when you have children is like shoveling your driveway while it is still snowing."  Therefore, I am proud to drive my crap mobile, well maybe slightly embarrassed, but if it means I have a houseful and carload of silly chatter, happy laughs, and snuggly hugs, then I will bear the burden of being labeled as a "rental risk" should we ever need to rent a place to live again in the future.