There always seems to be car drama. Are we the only ones, or does everyone find themselves juggling cars to make things work? The other day, I had Tessa’s car, Goff, while she was with her boyfriend’s family on vacation. She had to take Bert, the SUV of questionable origin, to Indianapolis because Goff needed new brake calipers. While driving Goff, I did the normal things that I would do in the course of a week. We were expecting company the upcoming weekend, so I needed to go to Sam’s club. This happens about once a month, mostly to get toilet paper, since I don’t have many kiddos at home anymore, but have visitors with some frequency. And seriously, how did our parents raise a family without Sam’s Club or Costco toilet paper?

Anyway, I took Goff to Sam’s Club. Somehow, I ended up spending over $400. That was some really expensive toilet paper!! I hauled my bounty across the massive parking lot, opened the trunk of Goff, and the trunk was FULL! So, there I stood, with my mouth hung open, balancing an overloaded grocery cart on the oddly sloped Sam’s Club parking lot, at the back of the car, looking at a trunk stuffed with things from the college move home back in May. These items in the trunk are NOT carefully planned and pre-packed items for the upcoming move back to college. These are items that have been tossed around the trunk of the car all summer, baking in the heat. With all the stuff that was around my house and in my garage, it was hard to imagine that there could be even more stuff that never made it out of the car. See, I will drive to college, help pack items and load them in the car, making countless trips up and down stairs, but I will NOT unload those items once we are back home. All that driving, lifting, and hauling takes a toll on me. By the time I get home, I am spent, and I go to bed. Besides, I had to get to the campus to pick them up, so I had already invested more time than them. This is their turn. Or so I thought. 

At that point, the unloading policy seemed like a foolhardy one at best. I found myself staring at Goff, trying to figure out how I was going to load $400 worth of groceries into the back seat of a two door car, when only one seat actually flips up for access to the back seat. Never have I ever been more excited about the crazy wide parking spots at Sam’s Club. At least Goff’s wide winged doors could open fully without hitting the car in the next parking spot. The Honda Accord was a small car in a parking lot built for BIG cars. Alas, there were also items in the back seat. I KNOW Tessa is not living in this car! I got to play car Jenga, shifting and reshifting my bulky purchases in the tiny, inaccessible back seat of that car. I also used the passenger seat, balancing and bracing items so they wouldn’t go flying around the car during the merciless red light stops on Rt. 30. Lord knows I would be driving distracted, trying to keep everything in place. 

By the time I was done, the passenger side (the only side with adequate access to the back seat) was loaded to the windows with groceries. Who looks like they are living in their car now? I took a picture of the trunk at the point of discovery, but failed to take a picture of the grocery jenga… probably because I was exasperated with the whole situation at that point. The “torque my back, twisting and lifting” unloading of the groceries was just as much fun. And, of course, nobody was home to help. 

So, the kids that remain at home will be leaving back to school soon. I will miss them, but maybe it’s a good thing. The moves back to school happen soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Have a great week everyone!