One of the key tenets of my parenting philosophy is that physical activity is good and a lot of physical activity is better. My primary goal each day is to get Olivia and Mateo to move around so much that at night, they will have no choice but to sleep.

My belief in physical activity may be the reason why we seem to be the only family in our neighborhood to wash our own car. Another reason could be that other families want their cars to be actually clean, and our minivan is not that, exactly. But I’ve given up on the idea of a spotless anything, at least for the next five years. As long as the van is safe and still runs, I’m not going to worry about it. 

The kids love to wash the car. Yesterday, Mateo and I waited until Olivia came home from school before we started so she could participate. Mateo filled a plastic bin with water and dish soap, while Olivia pulled on her waterproof rain boots. As much as Olivia loves washing the car, she hates getting wet, so her preparation involved elaborate layers of clothing. While the kids argued over who got which sponge and which squeegee, I hauled out the shop-vac to clean the food and other junk encrusted on their car seats. 

The car wash ended as it usually does, with Mateo leaping onto the hood of the car and scaling the front windshield onto the roof. As Olivia ordered him to get down, I gathered up our cleaning supplies. Not much can follow that trick.

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