I am reminded of the days of being a commuter and how that made for a very, very long day. I would rise and shine (on "dimmer" mode) trying to function but not wanting to "really be awake", only to save some of that sleep state of mind "to be continued" … rushing to get the 4:55am train that ALWAYS left on time. There was no second guessing any delay on this train. So of course being an "early bird" at that hour… it meant that I would continue my nights sleep immediately upon the train pulling off. Something about the motion I looked forward to that just rocked me back to sleep. I would set my cell phone alarm to 30 minutes prior to my stop to ensure I did not over sleep my stop. My next "wishful thinking" was that someone else would not be a talker nearby, that would "mess that cycle up"- interruptions.

Having a system in place to get to work on time and in this case an hour early was not the problem. Coming home… well THAT was the challenge. There seemed to be a schedule of arrival time listed, buuut during the season I commuted almost 3yrs…it was an unspoken code that we "might not" make that advertised schedule. After leaving work at 4:30pm I would head to the station to depart at 5:15…to arrive at 7:25pm… sort of.  We had to first leave at 5:15… And reasons that this may not be the case:

• Train’s late arrival from where it just left
• A freight train (which meant product before… people)
• Bad weather so the sensors went out
• Construction on the track

These fun little distractions were "TIMELESS"….not to mention pricless. These would cause me to get home at various times:

• 7:30pm, 8:00pm, 9:00pm, 9:30pm….and the best and latest time ever was  …. wait for it…. 10:00PM..

 Remember I had to face the 4:55 departure the next day… so I was so "travel drained" and HUNGRY, that it felt like I was walking in my sleep. A functioning sleep walker. Are we there yet? Try text messages from Mom that asked, "Are you home yet?" on a daily basis, because it was always a "wonder of what time is she getting home today" quiz.

As you travel to work by car, plane, or train…. possibly vanpool… the motivation is surely the job opportunity and not the travel time. Consider what a "walking, talking organizer" you must be. Multi-tasking on the train… using travel moments to plan your bills, your Saturday time off, your calendar, and you probably even have planned to sign up quickly for "paper plates" on the potluck list so that you don’t have to commute with a dish, too. Yes commuters have to be the time manage specialist. After all it takes so much out of you to travel… Thus you MUST balance things out by using the travel time to …. plan your next moment. Are we there…. yet?

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