I tore the plastic wrapper off of a spoon with my teeth less than 300 feet from the drive thru window. My purchase: a Mc Donald's hot fudge sundae. (Apparently they don't make caramel sundaes anymore, but the drive thru attendant told me I could always order a plain sundae and then ask for apple dipper caramel packets on the side.)
My mission: to eat and destroy the evidence of my hot fudge sundae by the time I made it home from Winn Dixie. I'm 33 years old and I know that I don't need to hide the evidence of my weaker moments all of the time but you never would have guessed that if you observed the spoon wrapper incident. If you add that to the crazy minivan driving around the island roundabout with my knees while eating the sundae that definitely gave it away.
As I ate and drove through the village I pondered the pattern and frequency of my car snacking. Turns out that I eat a LOT in the car. Sometimes I eat healthier things like fruit and nuts. Other times I turn to the road to meet my needs for ice cream, hash browns, and coffee. I don't have a lengthy commute, I am usually no more than 25 minutes from my home, and I am not starving. Despite all of these things I am always eating.
Three quarters of the way through the sundae I decided: no more eating in the car. 1. It's not safe. 2. It's not healthy. 3. I rarely enjoy the food I do eat. 4. It is teaching my kids that the car = snack time all of the time. 5. My car is a pit.
What a great belated New Year's Resolution! But a whole year seemed like a long time and I would like to be able to actually accomplish this goal. Last February I went on a No Spend Month Challenge. We didn't spend anything outside of our necessary expenses. So maybe this February is the No Eating In The Car month!
Or because today is Ash Wednesday and this may be a bigger challenge than giving up chocolate for 40 days: my new Lenten goal from tonight until Easter Sunday (with no Sunday rule exceptions!) is to refrain from eating or drinking anything other than coffee and water in a moving vehicle.
If I can do this then maybe I can tackle another month. I plan on cutting back the kid snacks too but sometimes they really do need to eat and I really do need to be able to talk on the phone.
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2 comments:
It took me about 1.5 months to cave with my "no eating in mama's new car" rule. Somewhere around the end of January, I started giving them apples and fruit gummies. but that's really about it. And I always have a plastic bag in the preschool pick up line and almost everyday I use that time to "tidy the car" :) Maybe if you do let the kids snack a bit, bring a plastic bag along for tidy time in the carline :)
i'm a secret snacker, too. esp. when pregnant, but i don't think that counts. unless it's every day, sitting in the drive thru at sonic for tater tots, a burger and a slush. and then it counts for sure, esp. on your thighs. good luck!
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