I’ve been working at my job in NH for just over two months now—and I do love it. The job is great, the people are fun and some of them are so smart I know it makes me work harder because I don’t want to be the dummy.
This isn’t the first time I’ve had a long commute. In early 2000, my ex told me he’d accepted a promotion that required him to move to Nashville, TN. Our younger son was finishing up his junior year of high school, and my ex (naively) thought that Ben would just go with him. Well no—you see, one commitment we’d made to the boys was that they would graduate from the same school system and I wasn’t going to break that commitment to Ben, especially not for one year of high school.
I moved from Kansas City, MO back to Lawrence, KS in May 2000. That meant I had about a 120 mile commute round trip—only with rush hour. To be honest, I hated the commute, every single part of it. A lot of the hate was because I drove with the rush hour traffic and anyone who knows me will tell you patience is not one of my strong suits. But I’d have done anything to make sure Ben graduated from the Lawrence school, and the drive was worth the frustration.
I’ve been trying to figure out why I’m not chafing over this current commute. After all, it’s longer and Boston traffic can sure get stacked up. All I’ve come up with is that (a) I’m driving opposite rush hour and (b) Kent’s unemployed. Much as when Ben needed to live in Lawrence, I will do whatever it takes to keep our little family going—the bonus is that I love this job far more than I did that job in 2000.
PS Our second grandchild was born on Sunday--a boy! You can see pictures here.
4 comments:
well...
a) you like your job much more
b) it's opposite rush-hour traffic. Don't underestimate that
c) The job is still new, hopefully the new & exciting part of it won't wear off!
d) you do travel a lot as well, so that breaks it up a bit
also, if you want to see more, better pictures, go here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=159864&id=501129530&l=ebafb05f76
I'm glad you're liking the job. Do you ever listen to audiobooks? I couldn't commute without them.
My money is on not minding the commute because your personal life is in a more settled place. You made the right choice for Ben and for your own soul, but you knew that it would end. Twelve months from now, Kent and your menagerie will still be living with you.
-lemming
Ben, you're right--this commute is opposite rush hour and that makes a huge difference.
Jeanne, so far I'm doing well with my MP3 player. I just crank the tunes.
V, you nailed it. I did make the right choice for Ben (and would do so again) and yes my personal life is a lot more settled now.
I'm home from two days in Portsmouth, getting swarmed by kitties and husband.
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