Metamorphosis of a Carseat

Britax. Supposedly a top-notch carseat,
according to all my experienced parent friends.

I have to admit, I am thrown for a second, every time I approach MY car and see--what? A carseat?--inside of it.
Wow, could it be that I've finally arrived?
Joined the club in which membership is defined by the possession of a Britax (or some other variety) and crumbs in the backseat that never quite get cleaned up? That, in fact, seem to multiply?
Where a seasoned member is defined by his or her expert ability to operate the 5-point harness system in the space of mere seconds?

I'm still getting used to its presence,
as evidenced by the fifteen times I've bumped my right elbow on it in the past week,
as I throw the car into reverse and back out of my crooked driveway (which resembles a very poor version of the letter C).

So now, there it sits, in the middle of the backseat
of the Outback, ready to support and protect the most precious of packages.
We don't have the package it's meant for just yet.

But for now, it's coming in handy as a sturdy container of packages of another type:
(ahem) Here's the part where I extol the virtues of a carseat for parents whose kid isn't with them yet:

It's great for holding grocery bags that otherwise would flop over on the backseat and cause apples and soup cans to engage in a little game of bumper cars.

It makes the perfect little niche in which to rest my purse, when I have a passenger and can't put my purse on the passenger seat.

Oh, it's also great for cradling breakables such as tabletop lamps, light bulbs, and newly purchased picture frames (a lot of them these days).

And a regular-sized bag of dogfood fits right in the carseat's little scoop.

Someday soon, our Britax will experience a complete transformation--
a metamorphosis from grocery-bag container to Matthew-cradler.

I can't wait for the day. I'll take pictures, I promise.