Fuzzy Slippers and no commute

As I sit here in my fuzzy slippers, I'm so glad I don't have to commute to work. I remember when I worked for a brick and mortor company in the Dallas area and had to commute to work and home each day. Most days it was hair-raising at best. But when it rained or there was any kind of precipitation, it was a living hell.

I remember my first year back in the Dallas area after being away for a few years. They had a record ice storm that year. When I got up there was probably 4-6 inches of ice on the roads, all of them. I listened to the traffic report and was horrified at all the accidents. Most of the major highways were shut down because of all of the accidents.

Dedicated employee that I am, I got my car de-iced and headed off to work. But I knew better than to even try to get on the highways. I lived maybe 30 miles from work. I took side streets. What normally took 30-45 minutes, an hour if there was a wreck on any of the highways I usually used, took over 2 hours. That's two hours of white knuckles, many cigarettes and a few centimeters of enamel ground off my teeth. Plus a few inches less on my brake pads.

The commute home was even more terrifying because I didn't leave early enough and spent most of the 2 hour drive home driving on icy roads in the dark. I made it to work and home with no mishaps. However, I vowed never, ever to do that again. If it snowed or iced, I would not drive to work ever again. And I have succeeded in my promise to myself.

Now I work from home. I never have to fight traffice, good weather or bad. My longest commute is the 1 minute it takes me to walk into my office. I don't pollute the air with my car fumes, I don't spend half my paycheck on gas and car maintenance, and my nerves fair much better. And my middle finger gets used a lot less. Although it's not near as much fun when the person you're flipping off can't see it, but it makes me feel better.