Long Day

As I was driving to pick Michael up from school today I was reminded again that Lansing drivers would die on the roads in Atlanta. The speed limit is 70 here, and I swear half the drivers barely reach 65, much less the 80 I know any Atlantan would be going on a road that wide open. Unbelievable. I’m all for going the speed limit (okay, okay, I’m actually all for going five over) and for the life of me I cannot figure out why in the world the folks here can barely reach 70. Even the big trucks actually go the speed limit.

I guess the difference is, when you’re on the highway here, you’re actually moving, unlike being on, say, I-285 in Atlanta. There’s no feeling of, “Oh my word, will these cars ever move?” and then the true and felt need to step on the gas as soon as an opening occurs, even if only an Yugo could fit through it. Because if you miss that chance, another may not come.

That is definitely one thing I enjoy about living here. I’m amazed that I never have to think, “Okay, what time is it?” If it’s between 3 and 7 pm I just knew I couldn't get anywhere fast back home. Up here it’s, “Let’s go,” and we get in the car and actually go.

Another funny thing is the church we’ve started going to is 25 minutes, door-to-door for us. The church is 15 miles from our house. When we lived in Atlanta our church was three miles from our house but it took just as long to get there as it does for us to drive the 15 miles here. Of course, most of the folks we’ve met at church think we live so far away! Perspective is everything.

The Top Chef finale is tonight. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve gotten hooked on not one but two reality shows. And as soon as Project Runway is back on the air (November 14!) I’ll make that three. At least two of the shows, TC and PR, actually involve real skill and talent. Survivor is just pure pap, but I love its pap.

I want Casey to win. I was a CJ fan until he blew it and got himself booted. Hung is an arrogant little *bad word* and I really don’t want him to win. If Dale wins, at least he’s not Hung.

I hope I can make it though the finale; I only got about four hours of sleep last night. No idea why; I just couldn’t sleep. So I’ve been on the cranky side today; it was not a stellar homeschool day at our house. But Rebecca learned about dropping the silent “e” in order to add a suffix, and we did our math by counting little pieces of hard candy, so I think she had a pretty good day. But Amy. What can I say about my poor little 11 year-old who thinks she’s 16? The fact that I haven’t beaten her to a pulp for her smart-aleck comments that she claims are jokes is evidence that miracles still occur.

Oh well.

Everyone’s out for the evening and I have the house all to myself. It’s been one glorious hour of not being interrupted. I know they’ll all be home in the next 30 minutes, so I’m trying to pack as much relaxation into those minutes as I can. Which seems counter-intuitive…

Anyway, I’m very, very thankful for the few moments of peace and quiet I’ve had this evening. Hopefully I’ve refueled enough to make it through the evening and into tomorrow. Rebecca’s having two teeth pulled. Now that should be interesting.