The Triumphs and Tribulations of Carpooling

Ah, marriage…..One of the best and worst things about being married is carpooling to and from work. We are blessed to work only a block from each other, so carpooling is obvious. It is the best in the morning because we get to ride together, I can do my make-up and drink coffee while he drives and all the while we save gas, car mileage, etc. On a side note, the application of make-up and the drinking of coffee are my dear husband’s two least favorite activities of mine. Throughout the duration of our traffic-filled mornings, I am repeatedly reminded that there is no reason for me to apply “that goop” to my face because in fact, I am beautiful and “ wasn't beat with the ugly stick” and that the “gut rot” I am drinking can only be one step short of sheer poison. These remarks usually just make me roll my eyes, laugh and give him points for truly caring about my self-esteem and my well-being. 

Okay now, back to carpooling…The mornings are great; however, it is NOT the best in the afternoons. Why? Because although it makes perfect sense to ride home together, since we are going to the same place, it saves gas and saves the environment or the whales and all that, I unfortunately have the task of waiting around from 3:30pm-5pm for Jordan to get done with work. Now don’t get me wrong, carpooling is an excellent idea and normally, I am extremely inventive at coming up with things to do while I wait until that magic five o’clock hour. I go shopping at Ross across the street, I go to Starbucks and apply for summer jobs or call my family and friends, I hang out in my “clubhouse,” AKA the third floor break-room at J’s work or I steal his gym key and workout on the second floor. The unfortunate thing is that when it is in fact blizzarding outside, I have blood sugar that is much too low to run, the internet is not working in my “clubhouse” and I have no spare change to spend on Starbucks at the moment…carpooling seems evil. Thus, I am writing about the joys and grumbles of married life on Microsoft word as I listen to the overly-obnoxious vending machine whir and look out at the snow, begrudgingly wishing that I could speed up time or take a nap. I plan to paste this into my blog when internet eventually becomes available again, or we go home. 

I suppose in life, and in marriage as I am always learning, you have to sometimes make sacrifices and do things that are not your favorite for the good of the “team.” So while this player on the team has to sit around and wait, the other player on the team works so hard for the money that provides for the former little grumpy player, which I guess means I should stop whining. Anyway, I’m looking out the window at the snow again and thinking Fettuccine Alfredo is in order for dinner tonight to cheer me up from my boring afternoon, and hey look, it’s already ten til five….