A few months into our relationship we decide to take a weekend get away to the mountains so decided to head to Breckenridge, and we decide to take my car. I should explain here that I’m very Type A and like to keep my car and other possessions in nice condition, with no garbage, leather kept up, etc. We are taking my car because Jason is driving a truck at the time and we feel my car will be a nicer ride and also has more room inside to bring all of our bags, etc.
So, we are off. Makaela is in the back with her iPad and Jason and I are in the front. Almost immediately, there are loud noises coming from the back, I realize Makaela is playing a game on the iPad. We drive along, and I assume since we are in close quarters Jason will ask her to turn down the volume or put in ear buds. This doesn’t happen so my nice quiet ride turns into an anxiety ridden ride up the mountains. Two hours+ of loud iPad game noises! I don’t blame Jason, he’s a dad and he’s probably learned to block out these sounds, but me on the other hand, is not used to hearing iPad game sounds at such a loud decibel so it causes me to stress and cannot wait to get to there and out of the car.
Overall we have a nice first trip to the mountains, it's always nice to get away. After the trip I dropped off Jason and Makaela at their house and headed to my house, feeling good and thinking that our first trip was a success.
I get home and started cleaning out the car. I’m tackling the backseat where Makaela sat, and happen to glance at the back of my driver seat and to my absolute horror find boogers ALL over the back seat. I am not exaggerating, they were ALL over! I am horrified, grossed out, and completely hurt. Is this Makaela’s way of “showing me” that I’m not as accepted as I thought I was? It’s funny now but at the time it was really a stressful feeling that overcame me trying to figure out what this meant and how could I address with Jason, blaming his princess for boogering up my car. Ultimately, I didn’t end up saying anything to him as I honestly just didn’t know how to approach. I did, however, share with my girlfriends to get their input and they were supportive but also didn't really know how to approach.
Fast forward a few months and we are taking another trip to the mountains and we are in my car again. I’ve since been able to visit with Jason about the iPad and the noise factor so now Makaela has ear buds for our long trips. We get to our condo and are unpacking and low and behold I see that she has started her booger art on the back of my seat once again. While Jason is in the condo, I asked Makaela to come with me to the car to get something. When we got there I gently asked her why she was wiping her boogers on the back of my seat and she instantly got quiet and a little sad because she thought she was in trouble, because she knew she was doing something wrong. I told her I wouldn’t tell her dad but that she needed to go get a wet cloth to clean up her current mess and that she needed to promise that she wouldn’t put boogers on my car anymore, and that she would ask me for a kleenix if she needed one. She agreed, cleaned up my car and there hasn’t been any boogers since. I eventually told Jason about all the boogers, of which he was horrified. I'm still not sure if it was an "initiation" of sorts or if she just didn't want to use a kleenex, she was only 8 at the time so assuming it was her age and the lack of wanting to use a kleenex.
Comments