Fingerprints

I don’t like fingerprints on my vehicles; inside or outside. I love a clean vehicle; it is one of the disciplines that was deeply instilled into me by my parents when I was a young lad. So, what do you suppose went through my mind when I was sitting in my truck one day with my granddaughter Fallon as she was eating some crackers and leaving fingerprints everywhere she touched?

Cathy and I were babysitting Fallon at her parents’ house while they were at the hospital recouping after the birth of Gavin (my third grandchild). We had spent the morning helping Fallon “drive” all of her parents vehicles; from the 4-wheeler to the classic cars. It was when we got inside my pickup truck that I gave her the crackers to eat from a bag sitting inside the cab. 

My obsessive-compulsive mind raced back and forth between wanting to quickly wipe away the fingerprints to being VERY gratefully at how the fingerprints came to be in my truck. For those of us who at times are obsessive-compulsive it’s easy to miss the bigger picture as we try to maintain control. Kind of like seeing only the footprints left in the freshly poured concrete sidewalk, all the while not seeing the child with the cold glass of water that they were holding out for you to take.

Fallon, on the other hand, was smiling and very happy just to be with her grandpa, “driving” my truck parked in her driveway and eating crackers that made her hands greasy, leaving fingerprints EVERYWHERE that she touched. Again, it was I who gave her the greasy crackers to eat!

Because of how I was raised, it really bothers me if my truck gets dirty from driving on a long trip and gets covered with road grime and bugs. As soon as possible I will wash the exterior and wipe down the interior with Armor All®.   

I should note that if you would look at the rear window of my pickup truck you will notice smudge marks that look like a bug-covered windshield after a very long road trip. It took me a while to figure out that they are marks left from hockey tape when I occasionally carrying my hockey sticks in the cab of the truck instead of in the truck bed. For some reason this doesn’t bother me to the point of cleaning the window!


My parents made sure that each week all of the family vehicles were washed. They would also make sure that interior was vacuumed and the appropriate areas wiped down with Armor All® - Car Waxes, Polishes, & Auto Detailing Products. The windows would be cleaned and Rain‑X^® Original Glass Treatment would be applied. Several times a year, the exterior would be waxed and polished and Armor All® would be applied to the tires

Because my parents took care of what they had, I’ve joked that when my parents give an account for what they were given and it all goes back to God, He will be able to get full market value because of how well they took care of what they were stewards over! 

I’m happy to say that love won out and I was able to sit back and take the precious moment with my granddaughter deeply in. I offered her a napkin from the glove box, which, I’m happy to report, she promptly used to wipe her hands and proceeded to once again “drive” my truck, eating crackers and leaving fingerprints!

The day that I wrote this blog, I washed and scrubbed the bugs off the exterior of the truck. Someday I will wipe the interior of my truck just because that is one of my issues. But for now, my granddaughter’s fingerprints mark up the interior reminding me that someone really loves me and once again I am so very grateful for the gift that she is in my life.