Slice of Life: The Jackpot

Owen, Jonah and I cleaned the car today.

I'm embarrassed in how seldom I clean or wash my car. It's not a high priority for me. Perhaps the best way to describe how dirty the car needs to be, is to say this: once the trash pile reaches the bottom of the windows, it's time to pick up.

When I cleaned, I went all out. The boys pulled out everything, sorting the junk from the lunch boxes, water bottles and pencils. I got out the vacuum cleaner, determined to get everything really clean.

In a moment of inspiration, I decided to remove the back seat. "Take a look at this," I said to the boys, who were trying to sneak away from the job for the 4th time.

There is something awesome about the back seat of the car. It's the same as the inside of a couch or chair, I think. There is a treasure trove of great stuff that has fallen back there over the years. Pens, coins, toys, cards--the every day flotsam and jetsom of life make their way back there. They aren't the kinds of things that a person will miss, but when they are found, it's kind of like...

"Jackpot!" Owen said as I removed the back seat. I looked down on a grotesque scene of smashed Skittles candies, lint, and scraps of candy wrapper. I noticed some coins sparkling out of this mess. There could easily be a dollar or two scattered back here, I thought.

Owen moved quickly through the back of the car, picking things out of the seat. "This is awesome!" he said. "Look at all these Legos."

I looked over. He was carefully looking through the junk, picking up Lego pieces, leaving the rest to me. He found the head of his Anakin Skywalker mini figure. He found a piece to a Bionicle that had been missing for a year, he said. "And here is the piece to my MX4Ti," he added. I hate when they speak Lego, don't you?

Later Jonah and I counted the change that I had collected after Owen had rescued the Legos. It added up to $3.75. Not quite the jackpot that Owen had found, but welcome nonetheless.