Monday, March 23, 2009

What Lies Beneath

Tomorrow morning the children and I will rise early and set off for a few days at the beach with my friend Melinda and her three sons. Two brave (crazy?) Mamas and six children under age seven will be travelling in this beauty...

So, if you happen to see us as we travel through Georgia, Alabama and Florida would you mind moving over to the right lane? We'll need all the 'right of way' we can get since it is a 7 hour drive...not counting stops. Would anyone like to start a pool on how many stops we will have to make for all those little bladders?

As we were transferring our car seats over to the van tonight I was MORTIFIED by the filth and muck hiding beneath them. Because moving 3 huge 5 point harness seats from vehicle to vehicle is a bit cumbersome, we only remove them once or twice a year. Each time we do I am in disbelief that I drive around with such disgusting-ness in my car on a daily basis. I think of myself as a fairly clean person. Yet, my focus on what is seen, masks the gross decay and nastiness hiding just out of sight.

This analogy is another that has been driven home by our friend's cancer. He looks terrific. When you see Mike in person it is very hard to believe there is unseen disease ravaging his body. How true this is of humans in general! We dress up our exterior without really addressing our root issues. Most of us have no idea what others around us are carrying in terms of the pain, hurt, sin, sadness hidden in their hearts. May we endeavor to treat others gently, recognizing that we often have no idea the load another is carrying.

Speaking of carrying a load, I have to go wrap up my packing!

12 comments:

Bethany said...

Have a wonderful time! Enjoy that big van, as one of 7 we've owned a 15 passenger for years-- lots of room! :-)

Lori said...

Praying for a great time, safe travels, and just a few potty breaks!

Sunny Day Tag Girl said...

I agree with you on the car seat thing.... each time we move them my husband states that we are living with gerbils and I think he just might be right!!!! Have FUN!!!

dee said...

We once drove one of those from NC to Florida with our family of five and another family of five!! What memories we have of that road trip. The kids loved it! It was very funny.

dee said...

Oops-forgot to say have a great time!

Bailey's Leaf said...

You should have gotten magnets made for the van that read-- Frequent Stops Made for Potty.

:) Have a nice trip!

Perri said...

My friend, Vicki and I made many a trip with 6 of hers and 4 of mine - all under the age of 8. Carly was the only girl.

We had a blast and made a gazillion memories. I'm sure you will too.

Have a great time.

Anonymous said...

Hope you have a great trip!

Kerin said...

Sounds like a lot of fun! How about some dramamine for the ride down there?

lucinda said...

I just wanted to tell you that you are not alone in your shock over what lies behind the car seats. The last time we took Will's car seat out, I found probably 15-20 Dum Dum sucker sticks. He gets one each time we go through the bank drive through & It never seemed to register with me that they were never to be found. He had been sticking them behind his car seat for months. What was left of each sucker was nicely stuck to the seat. It was gross to say the least. Hope you have a great trip!

Shannon said...

Hi J-Mom,
What a beast that van is. Have a blast driving and getting there. I'm sure you'll be laughing the whole way. Please get lots of pics for us too! With all those bladders I say at LEAST 5 stops.
PS: I just cleaned the kids' car seats out. Took them out and took off the covers and washed them. Not too shabby but was nice to clean them and make them fresh.
Be safe and have tons of fun. Remember, lots of pics!
-Shannon in Austin

Mom of Eleven said...

Girl, You know what we drive, that's how we roll!
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