Driving Pet Peeves & Carpool Realizations

I have hemmed and hawed, internally, about whether or not to post this, because it's more or less a rant, but if you know me, and you do, you know that rants come with the territory that is "Katie". So, buckle up people! :o)

Since I have been doing a lot of driving lately--what with two kids going to two different schools, in two different directions, and sitting in two different carpool lines--I have had quite a bit of time of reflection about this, and have made some realizations.

First, I hate carpool lines. With gas prices the way they are (astronomically high, into the realm of fiction), there is almost nothing more frustrating than sitting in a line that is inching its way closer and closer to the drop-off or pick-up spot. You are essentially idling for anywhere from 10-20 minutes. I've tried turning the car off if I know that I'm going to be in one spot for a while, but that doesn't always work. At this point I'm seriously pushing it (driving on the 'E' for an entire morning) to even be able to make it one week between fill-ups. I do like carpools in that I can pick-up each kid without getting everyone else out of the car, and I LOVE being able to have time with the kids when they are essentially a captive audience, where we can talk about things that they want to talk about. . .but the gas thing is awful.

Second, there's the people who won't turn left unless there is no one coming from either direction, as far as the eye can see. These nervous nellies are responsible for one of the favorite 'catch phrases' of our family. One day Jeff was getting more and more frustrated with the driver in front of us, until he simply bellowed, "You are cordially invited to turn left!!!!!!!!" Good times, good times. :o)

And what's with people who put on the brakes when there is NO ONE in front of them! For over 200 feet!! Just ease off the gas pedal, people! It's better for the environment anyway.

There's also a peculiarity that's unique to North Carolina--at least I've never seen anyone else do this in the other places that we've lived. Here, people stopped for a red light will leave an entire car length in front of them! For no reason!! I can sort of understand people 2 or 3 cars back doing it, because maybe they don't want to hit the car in front of them, in the remote possibiliy that the car behind hits them. But the person in the first car does it!!! All the time!!! There they are, waiting for a red light, 15 feet behind the white line!! FOR NO REASON!!!!!

Also, it drives me absolutely nuts when people don't go immediately when the light turns green. This is just plain selfishness, as far as I'm concerned. Because what you're really saying (by your actions) is that, I'll go whenever I feel like it, and I'll make it through the light, but I don't much care if the cars behind me make it through. ARRGGHH!!

Basically, all of these things add up to: I can't stand it when people drive slower than me, or make it harder for me to get through lights with the least amount of trouble. Sometimes I do much better about not letting it get to me, and just drive very zen, but other times (more often now that I'm pregnant, go figure) I get so frustrated, and call everyone an idiot for doing stupid things. The kids are so great about that, because they always remind me that "We're not supposed to call people stupid, Mommy." Which is totally correct, but what if someone really is being stupid? :o) I think I should start calling people "fathead" instead, like my dad does. It's not directly a 'bad word' (for our family at least), but it definitely conveys the problem, which is that they must have too much fat in their head for their brains to work effectively.

Anyway, that's enough ranting for now. I should end by saying how grateful I am that I have the resources to be able to drive my children to school so that (in Jarom's case, at least) he doesn't have to ride the bus, which is NOT a good environment here in Wake county, and that we can have a good time together listening to music and talking. If only people would drive how I want them to. . .