My car consists of two distinct ecosystems. The front seat is a simple forest ecosystem. Similar to Copenhagen, Denmark's, which is defined by its cool nature and organized state. Everything up front works together in a harmonious fashion. My water bottle has it’s place, as does my coffee cup. I have a designated spot for my car mints, and a special area to charge my phone. According to the NIH, “Being in a forest ecosystem can feel like a place of peace, inspiration, and well-being.” This is true for me when I am in the front of my car. It is my all-alone, me place, and I relish it. I do some of my best thinking here, and my most keen maneuvering, and I can really hit a high note to this song. Here I am, looking as serene as can be.
Then there is the backseat, which is an ecosystem I try my best not to venture near. But because it’s where my children sit, I do quite often. Unlike the tranquil front, this is a complex ecosystem much like a tropical rainforest. Water and milk spillage from a variety of used cups forms thick cumulonimbus clouds over the car seats making the area warm and humid. Once in the back, you cannot help but feel agitated as it is alive, and the mess in between the carseats grows at a rapid speed. Nothing is permanent, everything is prone to rot, destruction, and succumbs to the crust of Cheez-Its and Cheerios. In the back of the car, you learn to fend for yourself, or your space will be taken away from you or worse covered by a sticker. I’ve lost my soul in the back of that car more than I’d like to admit.
Whenever a guest, specifically a guest with no small children, enters my car I feel mortified of my backseat because of its natural state and the fact that I do not have it in me to do anything about it. I so badly wanted it to be like the Copenhagen front, but there are so many other things to do in this world that take precedence. (Like writing about it rather than cleaning it.) However, then I, like many parents before me, happened upon the episode of Bluey which features the backseat of their car and I didn’t feel so terrible anymore. Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles this show is, they have the same ecosystem as mine. A rainforest right before my very eyes. I wanted to run and hug the television. But I didn’t have to because my son shouted, “Those look like the snacks and stickers in our car.” He was correct. It’s natural to have two ecosystems after all!
P.S. If you love Bluey and the architecture featured in the show, might I suggest this fabulous piece written by Leonora Epstein from Schmatta, a stupendous Substack about design things and much more.