Learning to Love My Commute

When I moved to Hattiesburg three years ago, I bought not only a house, but a daily two-hour commute. Actually it's one hour and 10 minutes each way, but who's counting -- it's long.

Fortunately I'm not the only Coast transplant up here. Six months ago 10 of us formed a van pool to our jobs at Stennis Space Center. Misery does love company -- and saving gas. Unfortunately, I had to adjust my work hours to reach work at 7:00. So I now leave the house at 5:30. I get up at 4:00. As in A.M.

I am not a morning person. As one of my van mates pointed out, 5:30 is not really morning, but the middle of the night. Nice logic, but it doesn't make me love that hour any more.

Left to my own devices, I would stay up all night reading, watching old movies, cooking and, now, blogging. And though my devices are not my own these days, I often pretend they are and suffer the consequences.

Last night I stayed up to watch this fascinating TLC special about twin savants . This morning. I brushed my teeth with mousse. The hair kind, not the chocolate kind. It did not taste good. Consequences.

Sleep deprivation and compromised oral hygiene aside, the van pool commute is not all bad. It beats the hell out of doing it solo. Here are some of the other positive aspects I've discovered about spending 10 hours a week on the road:

I get to watch the sun rise. Every day. It's really worth seeing.

I'm catching up on my reading. I virtually gave up recreational reading three years ago. Now I've dusted off my library card, and I'm devouring all the books I can get my hands on. I am currently reading "My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead," an anthology of love stories from authors of different nationalities and eras. Makes me want to go back to school and study fiction writing.

I am brushing up on my French via podcasts. Because I just never know when the urge to spend a long weekend in Paris will hit.

I catnap. Ironically, this is difficult to do at home because of all the cats.

I'm saving up to $250 a month on gas!

I'm doing something good for the environment (not to go all green on you, but it is important).

I make out grocery lists, to-do lists and lists of other lists I want to make. I tested off the charts as a "J" in Myers-Briggs. Does it show?

I get to run my dinner plans and menu ideas past a human audience. I've tried doing this with the cats, but they always vote for tuna which gets old.

I'm getting home early enough to tend to my garden and spend quality time on the porch swing.

I have every other Friday off to spend as I please.

These days, it pleases me to sleep in.