The Long and Winding "Rush" Hour

Well, I mentioned that I got a promotion. I think it's going to be really great, except for one thing. I'm back to the god-awful commute.

It was one of the very best things about my last job. Fifteen minutes to work...no interstate involved. Three alternate routes. I was not late a single time due to traffic. The drive was relaxing. And that's huge for me. Because I'm not a fan of driving, really. I'd rather drive than be the passenger, but I don't enjoy driving the way some people do. My shoulders tense up and on long trips ache all the way up into my neck. Why?

In case I'd forgotten, the last week has served to remind me in great detail. It now takes me 45 minutes to an hour to get to work. At first I thought I'd avoid the interstate traffic, since everybody was sitting out there listening to morning radio and drinking coffee as they inched very slowly toward their destinations. I found a route that seemed like it was going to be alright. It wasn't any faster, but at least I was moving the whole time. That made it somewhat bearable. Because I hate sitting in traffic while other people are cutting in front of the line, crowding others out, veering from one lane to another, practically attached to the bumper in front of them. Heaven forbid someone slam on their brakes. All of that makes me tense. I'd like to at least wait until I arrive at work before I tense up.

So, yesterday my somewhat acceptable alternate route turned into a parking lot. It was the first day of school. It took me an hour and a half to get to work. I think I'd have gotten there faster just walking, except I'd have died from heat exhaustion. There's something about sitting in a very long line of traffic with nothing productive to do...except think about how far behind you're getting with every passing moment. It's just not conducive to a cheerful attitude. It really doesn't help when nobody on the road with you seems to have a turn signal installed on their car, or any clue that any of those signs are directed at them. When yellow means go faster and intersections are suddenly meant to be blocked, so that the cross street has absolutely no hope of moving on their green light. And somehow I gave everybody out there the impression that I was going to be kind enough to let them get in front of me because they needed to move so much more than I did.

I can say some very colorful things while sitting alone in that traffic. Alright, so I can hear some of you saying that if I'd just carpool...if everyone would just carpool....then there'd be less traffic and less hassle for all of us. Yeah. But here's the deal. I am married. I am a mom. Being in the car driving to work is the only hope I have of getting a single moment to myself during the course of the day. It's the best thing about driving for me...the chance to get that "me" time that I never get. But all this mess of traffic insists on spoiling it for me.

It's a great scene from a movie....when the car is cruising down the highway with the top down on a gorgeous 70 degree day with a fantastic song playing and not another car in sight anywhere. If I could just find that scenario one time in real life. That's a funny thing that I will admit about myself. When I mow the lawn, I put on my iPod and drive that John Deere like it's going 75 miles an hour down an open road. Just me and the music. Rushing to no place in particular. With nothing pressing to do.

Now there's a fantasy for you!