Traffic Jam!

It seems as of late, the story of my life aligns closely with traffic. I wake in the morning grumpy as I consider all that I must to during a very short 16-18 hours. What I dread most about getting ready for my day in the wee hours just before sunrise, is the traffic that I KNOW I will face. I don’t dread my daily shower or the ability to get “dressed up”. I don’t dread hair and makeup, I don’t even dread the struggle to wake up my 7 year old and aid him in getting ready for his day. The dark cloud the storms and rains above me is the awareness of TRAFFIC. My 16 mile commute takes 45 minutes to an hour most mornings. (Yes, I’m aware that it could be worse.) This has become something that I simply detest. I sit bumper to bumper- hesitation kills- don’t pull out in front of me- move out of my way- just go- traffic EVERY MORNING just to arrive at my destination beat up and worn out. My shoulders ache from the stress of 10 and 2 hand placement on the wheel and I’m constantly wondering when some freak driver is going to plow through with road rage and hit poor, innocent me! Of course, I sit for 8 hours in a crappy cube and really no longer enjoy my job only to leave defeated each day to face afternoon TRAFFIC. I try to listen to the radio, make phone calls… sing… anything to provide distraction, but it still leaves me tattered and worn when I arrive home—AN HOUR LATER FOR A 16 MILE COMMUTE!

Just yesterday, my TRAFFIC experience summed it up. It was 5:30pm when I left work and I knew what was coming up. The lines of cars were backed up 2 miles before my exit onto the “expressway” crap road. I thought, let’s take an alternate route. (Yeah, so did everybody else.) I sat, once more, bumper to bumper, light after light… growing more and more frustrated and hungry by the minute when it occurred to me, “I can turn off here, turn there, and arrive here, placing me on my side of town quicker than the route I’m on.” The one good decision I happened to make. Traffic was still heavy, but smoother when I took plan C. Mile-ing along as opposed to inching along, I crept closer to my goal. I called Jeff to let him know I was like 5 minutes away, going the speed limit, traffic easing… I came around a bend in the road and SLAM, BOOM, BANG…break lights, ambulance, fire truck=wreck.

THE FREAKING STORY OF MY LIFE! Cruising along, alright, okay, I can handle this and eeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrtttttttt: complete stop. I so can’t handle this! The good news is that yesterday, the road wasn’t completely blocked and as quickly as I came to a stop, I started off again.

Please, God, help me not to define my life by TRAFFIC. Help me to keep on trucking along even when it absolutely sucks. Teach me to find joy in TRAFFIC and peace along the road home. Dear God, please keep me safe from accidents, help me to help those who find themselves involved in accidents and PLEASE HELP ME TO FIND A WAY TO BE GRATEFUL FOR TRAFFIC!