Knowing yourself.

September 30, 2014

Moonlighting. A blog by Judy Cools.

If your life is anything like mine, your level of organization probably goes up and down like a yo-yo. There are days I can work all day and get nothing done. Other days I can knock off a whole list of long-overdue projects before lunch and not even feel tired. What’s up with that? I can’t figure it out.

There are a couple of “tells” though which seem to be pretty consistent: The state of my purse and the state of my car. If either of those gets out of control, look out, Judy – you’re on a slippery slope!

Purses are kind of a pain anyway. Who really wants to drag all that stuff around with them, everywhere they go? But, you have to have ID, and you have to have money. Insurance cards. A pen. Medications if you need them. Keys. Eyeglasses. Checkbook. Cell phone. Then there’s the semi-optional range of things, like credit cards, business cards, and reward cards. The keys to your parents’ house. Keys to your kid’s house. Keys to the car you only drive now and then.

Get past that stuff, and you roll into the “are you serious?!” categories like discount coupons for fast food, grocery store coupons, mail, bills, and lists of errands or groceries. Finally, come the totally useless items that collect in purses. That would be your receipts for things where you will never, ever, ever use the receipt, like for gasoline or that double cheeseburger you had for lunch. But if someone gives us a receipt, we tend to save it. And we save the gum wrappers we don’t want to turn into litter, used tissues when there is nowhere to throw them out, and the boxes that were wrapped around the small bottle of ibuprofen we keep in the car.

Ah, yes….. the car. Another trap for the trash of life. Oh, if we were only less responsible, we could stop driving around in a waste basket on wheels. I love a clean car. And slowly, that clean car slides in condition to something that yells “fix this!” whenever I climb inside. We’ve already discussed wrappers and receipts. But in a car, you also get sand and gravel tracked in on your feet. Doggie nose prints and doggie fuzz. You get the little ring from whatever you’re drinking in the car, be it pop or coffee. Oh, and those splashes from jostled coffee! Yuck.

Road dust begins to coat the dashboard. Film attaches to the windshield and makes early morning commutes uncomfortable and even dangerous. Fingerprints collect on the rearview mirror and crumbs line the upholstery. Each day we climb in, and each day we climb out – how many times? And if the interior of the car is out of control, life is out of control.

Hmmmm…. I do believe I’ve just talked myself into cleaning my car. The purse will have to wait for another day.

Kudos, complaints, or conversation? Moonlighting19@yahoo.com