We paid to have our car detailed today. Usually I give our cars a good clean in the spring, but this past year I had a baby, and then we moved, and then I was without our vehicle for a month in the fall while Dave worked in another city. Most of the year before that I was pregnant. Needless to say, after a couple of winters it needed it! My husband has size 15 shoes ... that size tread picks up A LOT of dirt. Northern Alberta winters last for 8 months ... which equals a lot of snow and slop. Our dashboard looked like it was covered in grey valour fabric, which in actuality was an inch of dust on black vinyl.
So today after my husband brought it home (it took 5 hours to clean apparently) I took the opportunity to sit in driver's seat and take a few minutes to enjoy that squeaky clean interior. It's probably the cleanest its ever been since we owned it. It was previously owned when we bought it, and even though Dave had them re-detail the car when we took ownership because he wasn't happy with their work, we're pretty sure they just thought detailing meant putting more Armour All on the leather. (Seriously ... Dave had to pull over on the 4 1/2 hour drive home because his eyes were burning from how much they put on the steering wheel!)
Another interesting fact about our car is that it doubles as a treasure chest. I've cleaned it myself at least twice and each time I've found half a dozen small toys hidden in the crevices of the floor, seats and consoles. The previously owner obviously (other than the fact that its a crossover vehicle) had kids. Today our Pacifica lived up to its reputation when another 2 items were found (some piece to a Happy Meal toy and a small rubber ball that looks like an eye).
Back to the point of my story ....
As I sat in the drivers seat, breathing clearly from the lack of dust, I turned around and looked back. Something was strange. The passenger rows looked different. They honestly were most likely the cleanest areas of the car since, we don't let our kids eat back there except for snacks on long road trips. Then it struck me ... There were NO CAR SEATS! We bought the car when Cole was 5 months. All we had was a small Honda Civic (which we sold during our move) and with 3 people, one in a car seat and one at 6' 4", we needed more space. Our Chrysler has always had a least 1 car seat in the back.
I better not get used to it. Children spend a lot more time in car seats these days. With a 1 year old and a 3 year old, we have many more years of car seats to come. Maybe if we ever get a second vehicle again it can be car seat free?! That way I can take it for a spin and feel young and not tied down again. Of course with our budget it may have just as much rust as a high school clunker! Not sure I want to feel that young.
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