In a rut

This morning I was doing a bunch of stuff for the PTO while also helping Lincoln get the kids ready for school. On Thursdays and Fridays we actually have a little extra time in the morning since Jake doesn't need to be dropped off until 8:45 and Hannah until 9:00 a.m. (as opposed to Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays when Hannah has to be at Grandma and Grandpa's no later than 8:15 a.m. to catch the bus.)

Lincoln left the house with the kids shortly before 8:45 a.m. and I wrapped up what I was working on before racing up to take a shower and head into work. This of course meant I didn't have time to dry my hair. Here is where the "in a rut" part comes into play.

It's not uncommon for me to run out of the house with a head of wet hair. I must say most mornings I'm running out of the house at the last minute. Luckily I know that if I leave the house with wet hair that by the time I get to work it will be dry enough to pull back into a pony tail. Along those same lines I know which lights I'm likely to hit that will be red. I can stop at one and put product in my hair and know that by the next red light it will be ready to pull back.

As I was doing this routine this morning it occurred to me that I have been doing this commute for seven years. SEVEN YEARS! It's no wonder that I have it down to a science. I knew by the fact that I reached my exit at 9:48 a.m. I would be exactly three minutes late to work. And I was! I arrived at exactly 10:03 a.m. I know which lights are likely to be red and which ones I can usually time to be green. I know that from the exit to work there is no way to make it in less than 15 minutes no matter what I do. I know which lanes to be in and that Thursday is garbage pick-up day on Charlesbank Road, a tight windy road that is not enjoyable on Thursdays. I know how the light cycles on the stop lights work and can usually guess when the light is going to turn judging by when people gun their engines as it turns yellow to get through a particular intersection with a long light cycle.

I really need to find a new way to work.