Road Rage

I've noticed that the more I'm on the road, driving, the angrier I get. And it doesn't make sense. I do not drive to work everyday. My time on the road consists of the 5 minute drive to the metro station that I take every morning and the 10 minute drive in the evening from the metro station to Darrius' school. So I spend 15 minutes on the road as my daily commute. That is a tiny, minute fraction of the amount of time the normal DC/MD/VA commute consists of. So why am I so angry when I get behind the wheel?

It starts the moment I get in my car and leave the parking garage. When I'm getting ready to exit the garage, I get irritated when people are searching to find their SmartTrip card so that they can pay the parking fee and exit. Why isn't the card in their hand or sitting in the cup holder? What sense does it make to put it back in your purse or in your pocket knowing you're going to have to use it again? So I start to simmer. I yell at the person in front of me, "hurry up!" As if they can hear me.

Once I'm out of the garage and on the road, the simmer turns to a slow boil. People act like they don't know how to merge, how to change lanes, how to use a turn signal, doesn't know that green means go....it's ridiculous! So I grip my steering wheel and the yelling starts. For some reason I like calling people asswipe. That's my new word. So I'm yelling "Go asswipe! The lights green!, asswipe" or "Use your turn signal dumb-A". That's another word I've been using a lot lately - dumbass. I don't know why I like it but I just do. I especially like using the shortened version, dumb-A. I like the way it feels, I guess. None of this is productive. I can't control the way people act on the road by acting like an angry moron. And it's stressful and not healthy and not productive. And I have 10-year-old ears in the car with me when this ranting is going on.

So, I've come to the realization that I can't be doing this with Darrius in the car. That's not good. I don't want him growing up thinking that this is appropriate driving behavior. So I am going to make a conscious effort to curb my Road Rage. It's my New Year's resolution that I'm starting TODAY! It's going to be hard to do living in this area since most people around here drive with their thumb up their asses! (ok - had to be said. that was my last, last RR rant - promise)