I Hate the Commute

The dog and I are up. It's about 5:55 am. My husband leaves for work at about 6:00, but today he needed gas so he left at 5:45. We live in a commuter suburb, so many people leave at these insane hours and don't return until 7:30 pm. I hate the commute and I don't even make it.

First, I hate that I am awakened at these ridiculous hours every day of the week. This is not a quiet or efficient man. He needs 40 minutes to get ready each day. During that time, there's a lot of walking back and forth from bedroom to bathroom. He leaves lights on, he hums and he talks to me! I don't want to talk at this time of day. I want to sleep. We have high maintenance children and a puppy. I need my strength.

Second, I hate the mess. Somehow, this fastidious man who shines his shoes twice a week can't clean up his breakfast mess. This morning, there's an oatmeal pan and bowl, some unwanted items he pulled out of his work bag, and the box of oatmeal on the kitchen table. He also leaves dirty clothes all over the bedroom and wet dirty towels on the bathroom floor. I guess he feels that his commute entitles him to be a pig, either that or he thinks I don't have enough to do each day and wants to leave me a project.

Third, the drive home takes a very long time. I don't really understand this. The drive to work can be anywhere from 40 minutes to and hour and fifteen minutes, depending on the time he leaves. The drive home is always over an hour. How does that work? I don't understand. Then, I'm supposed to wait for him for dinner. I can usually hold out, but there are nights I'm hungry and I eat with the boys. This should be understood as natural and not pouted about.

Many of my friends have the same situation in their homes (except for the early morning noise). It's nice to know that I have people close to me that understand what I'm going through. They can sympathize and they can also tell me to get over myself if I whine too much. Reality checks are important.

We've been watching "Charm School" on VH1. This is the show that brings all the girls from "Flavor of Love" under the tutelage of Mo'Nique to learn all the things their mothers should have taught them but never did. This has to be the sorriest group of young women you have ever seen in your life, but since it falls into my favorite category of mindless entertainment I'm drawn to it each Sunday like a moth to a flame. The mastery of communicating with only 4 letter words is awe inspiring. The slovenliness is breathtaking. And the drive that these girls have to win a paltry $50,000 is amazing. We're down to the final four. I have picked my favorite and I have my hopes that Mo'Nique will do more for the winner than just hand her a check. An education would be good, perhaps a scholarship to a community college for a degree in Nursing or Education could be added to the pot. New clothes would be nice too. Not that I'm the best dressed person in the world, but it is easier to be taken seriously if your ta-tas aren't hanging out all over the place. I hope for the best for these girls and I sincerely hope Mo has gotten through to them and given them some self respect to rise above the standards they have been living by.

The dog needs to go out again and his small male friends are still in bed. Off to start my day.