Freeway Rant 1

I commute about 30 miles to and from work every day. On a good day, the drive takes me about 40 minutes, 50 with traffic, over an hour with weather. So I know driving. I know drivers. I know the freeway. And I know what pisses me off.

So, I’m writing a series of tips. If everyone would just follow these simple tips, I’ll be a much happier commuter.

Tail-gating me won’t make the traffic in front of me go any faster. Yes, I know you want to go faster than what we’re going, but I’m probably not in the mood to have your big SUV crawl into the trunk of my cute little car. And I’m certainly not in the mood for you to smash my cute little car if I have to stop. Keep a safe distance.

Do I Even Want to Know What Goes On Here?

This is hanging  in the bathroom/changing room at my fitness center.

Nine Eleven Two-Thousand One

I was late for work, like usual, and really annoyed that some unexpected road contruction and a detour was delaying me even further. Not that it mattered much; I knew I would be alone in the office that day. I was listening to my usual radio station and their morning program was on. Suddenly, the voice coming from my radio announced that there must have been some terrible airplane accident in New York City. The seriousness of the incident was not yet evident — he and his sidekick were discussing how a plane had hit the Empire State Building. This time, it was one of the buildings of the World Trade Center.

When I finally arrived to the office, I stopped in the deli next door, which had a television. The owner, a couple of customers, and I were captivated. I was supposed to be sitting in the office, making calls to on behalf of the agents. But I just didn’t have it in me. Clearly, if anyone actually answered the phone, they wouldn’t at that moment be interested in insurance.

When the second plane hit, I turned the to the deli owner and said, “we’re at war now, aren’t we?”

I tried calling home to tell my husband, but he was sleeping too soundly. I never felt so alone in all my life. I finally did reach him. We talked for a bit, but he really needed to go back to bed.

I only worked 4-hour shifts then. When the other admin came in for her shift, we were both too stunned and upset to really talk about it much.

I went home. My friend and I had planned to go out to lunch to celebrate her birthday. We went to the golf course where she worked and had lunch. The TVs were all tuned to the coverage. After a bit of awkward small-talk, we finally started sorting out our feelings. When we were done eating, we went back to her house; neither of us wanted to be alone.

Finally, it was time for my kids to come home from school. My older son came home first. He knew some of what happened, but I don’t think he really understood why. How could he? No one understood why. My younger son came home with a note explaining that they did not discuss the day’s event as the felt the children were too young to grasp the concept.

It took several weeks to start to feel normal again. I couldn’t sleep at night for a very long time. I was worried about my kids and the world they were growing up in.

I am grateful now that “normal” is mostly back eight years later. However, I will never forget the events of that day and the people who died. May the survivors find peace.

May God bless our firefighters, police officers, first responders, and military troops.

Worried About the Little One

The office park where I work has lovely walking trails that I like to use during my lunch hours when the weather is nice. Earlier this spring, I came across this little guy (or gal — I don’t know how to tell) where the parking lot meets the trail.

He was heading into the parking lot area and I didn’t like the idea of him getting smushed by a big car. So I picked him up and brought him to an area near a pond. There are several turtles in the pond around that area, so I was pretty confident that was where he belonged.

I still worry about him. I wonder if I did the right thing. Did he get eaten? Did he have a hard time and die? Was he supposed to be in the parking lot? Was he trying to get away from something?

Of course I’ll never know. But I hope he’s ok.

Identity Crisis

The other day, I saw a vanity license plate that said SAMSMOM.

I’m not a fan of vanity plates; I don’t see the point. Usually they’re stupid, some inside joke, or truly vain. And the ones that are really clever are only clever for about thirty seconds. I generally like to mock them.

But this one really bugged me. I’m sure she’s very proud of Sam, but is it worth purchasing a vanity plate to announce the fact? Moms are great — I’m one too — but really, being one isn’t that special. Important, yes, but not special. And I know she loves Sam — I love my kids too — but again, it’s not unique to love your kids.

The real concerning part, though, is that she, like many moms I know, is choosing to define herself in relation to her child(ren). I know a lot of women who use their kids’ names in their email addresses, blog names, and other aliases in addition to their vanity plates. It’s as if some of these women give up their actual identities.

Now don’t get me wrong, my family is right behind God as the most important thing in my life. But it does not define me. I’m me first, and I am so many things in addition to being a mom.

And I’m sure SAMSMOM is many other valuable and important things, too.

Additionally, I know of a lot of moms who define their families by listing their kids but not mentioning their husbands or SOs. My family is comprised of more than just my children — we have dad and mom (me!) too. To be fair on that point, I don’t know SAMSMOM family structure — there simply may not be a dad or another mom in the picture.

Kids need to grow up feeling very important; if they don’t, they won’t grow up healthy. But they also need to grow up knowing that their parents are important individuals who have other things in their lives too.

Oh, and if you like to mock vanity plates, be sure to visit Vanity Plates: Creepieness in 8 Characters or Less. Funny stuff.

Hello world!

This is my new blog. I’m just learning how to do this, so please be patient.

There are a lot of blogs out there that say “there is no real reason for this blog.” This is one of those.

I have some stuff to say about random, daily things. So I’ll say them here.

I hope you enjoy it.