As I became a SAHM, I came to realize that one of the perks would be not driving through one of the worst parts of the day: RUSH HOUR! Traffic jams, cars, red lights, accidents that cause everyone to stare and myself do not roll well together. Patience is a virtue I have learned when becoming a parent and it comes in handy when I have to exercise it with my daughter. But on the other hand, I become a totally different person when I slide into my 2004 Honda Accord and start my trek across town.
One day a week, I bartend at P.F. Changs China Bistro, where I have worked for a long and grueling six years. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to have cash in my pocket at the end of the night to spend on our groceries for the week, but the daunting task of getting to work nearly drives me insane. When John and I got married, we, like most couples decided it was time to invest in our own property, so we bought a house. I love our house and I like the suburb where we live, but it is a good 20 minutes away from my job. This means having to drive through the middle of Columbus, Ohio during the busiest part of the day. My usual 20 minute drive can some days transform itself into a 40 minute drive. The causes for the increase in drive time are: rain, snow, sleet, accidents, slow drivers and any unusual activity in the center of town.
I will say that I may add to the slowness but only for a mere second as I glance out my window to see what happened on the side of the road. Sure, I’ll peek at the accident quickly, but never do I slow down to a near stop and gawk at it like many people do. It’s like they have never seen an accident before.
Precipitation on the ground or in the air also causes the drivers in Central Ohio to drop their speed nearly 20 miles below the speed limit. Like I just said, it’s like they have never driven in this type of situation before and become scared little puppies.
Wouldn’t it be great if someone could come up with a conveyor belt to put the slow drivers on or have an extremely impatient drivers lane so that my drive to work could become more enjoyable. I would like to be able to sing at the top of my lungs to the songs on my iPod without having to see the bright red lights flashing in front of me at speeds of 10 mph.
Hopefully, I’m not coming off as bitter, but just an impatient MoM who would rather spend quality time with her daughter then having to sit in the car waiting to get to work. Luckily for me and the people of Central Ohio, I only do this once a week.
