Clean Clean Clean

I have this overwhelming need to have a clean car. I am very particular about what happens in my car, what surfaces I drive on, where I park, and how often it must be washed. Now some of you may think I'm crazy...but really, I come by it very naturally. At my house there are more rules in the car then in the house. You don't eat in the car, you don't touch the paint, you only use the handles...to close the doors and the trunk, you beat off your shoes before you get in, you don't put your feet on the dash or on the seats...My dad will call someone for a ride before he takes his car out in the rain. He built himself a garage at his office, so that even when he is at work his car is not exposed to the elements. Our cars are VERY well taken care of, my dad's is now 6 years old and still looks brand new.
One thing driven into me from the time I could reach the windows, was that NEVER, under any circumstance do you draw/write on the windows. Car windows are not an artist medium...I learned last weekend that not everyone has these same convictions! When it is snowing outside and the windows are foggy, apparently that is an invitation for expression. We took my car to Twin Falls last weekend, all six of us. And by the time we were in Boise, where we picked up the guys, Jessie & Katelyn had both written on my windows. Yes, they were cute notes...but even as they were doing it, and I knew I would have to clean the windows later...I couldn't bring myself to join in. It is just too ingrained in me, that that is wrong, to consider that something fun to do.
Well needless to say, Jessie & Katelyn know me very well and both know that isn't something that I would do in my car :) And as we spent the whole weekend traipsing around in the snow and mud, climbing in and out of the car frequently...it received its fair share of loving reminders of our adventures. James kept telling me he wanted to help me wash my car...well I've come to expect that other people don't really see a clean car as a necessary part of life. But I've learned that James & Kevin lean a little more towards my family's side of the spectrum....both liking their cars to be clean. So while driving to Twin Falls most people may never consider washing the car as something necessary on the return...it was definitely at the front of our minds :)
So...James brought all different cleaners and such to church with him on Sunday and afterwards all 5 of us washed my car!! And not only washed it...but CLEANED it...we cleaned every piece of that vehicle. (Let me tell you, it helps to have tall people!!) It was really fun!

And it makes me grateful for my friends, simply that they respect others. I've had people borrow my car before, and when I got it back the first thought was...wow, I will never let them use my car again! It's refreshing to have the opposite experience, and I mean I was even with them, it wasn't like they borrowed my car...but they still wanted to help me clean it. It's just a thoughtful, respectful, thankful approach to looking at life. It's how I was raised.