I’ve gotten into a bad habit or two. It happens.
My first-thing-in-the-morning habit involves having a large mug of tea and a bowl of hot oatmeal for breakfast. This one is a good habit. I get healthy and happy right off the bat.
The problem lies in the fact that I prefer sleeping until 8am but must be dashing out of the house by 7:45am to take youngest child to school, and I’ve sadly gotten lax about prioritizing these numbers.
Okay fine, I’ve gotten lax about every last thing to do with youngest child…when other moms followed their prodigy around the kindergarten classroom with a videocamera, I pulled up to the curb, tossed him out with a snack and said, “Good luck with that, kid!”
However, in a vague effort to be a good mom, I try to synchronize his arrival with that of his peers.
Most mornings, I can get dressed and in the car on time.
But I am holding a full mug of tea (travel cups are for sissies) and my co-pilot is holding my bowl of oatmeal while I navigate turns and hills at top speed.
If I take a drink at every red light (and there are plenty because the Red Light Gargoyles know that I might be running on time, and we can’t have that) then I have an empty mug that I can put down, take my oatmeal from youngest child, and let him out at the curb. With his snack.
Now I have a cold bowl of mush, but because I’m not here to waste food or time, I eat it methodically at all the red lights back towards home.
The kids have all seen me do this.
They are horrified.
I’ve tried to convince them it’s delicious. Why, it’s the same as eating warm(ish) oatmeal cookies soft from the oven and dipped in milk.
But they see me carve a lump of oatmeal out of the bowl and they’re not buying it.
So I want to know.
Why can’t they customize a car with a few obvious comforts?
Cars are already equipped with hair dryers. You can blast your damp locks with the heater vents as you zoom down the highway.
You can apply makeup on the way to a date using the rearview mirror. A handy sleeve of pockets attaches to the sunshade and holds your brushes and creams.
How hard could it be to install a toaster vent just above the CD portal?
PopTarts are a basic food group and so portable, it’s a natural next step, engineer guys.
Cigarette lighters are a waste in California, but with just a small modification, they would be a great curling iron at a red light.
Of course, I realize that holding anything besides the steering wheel is a terrible idea.
Naturally, I am only thinking of my passengers’ comfort.
But nobody like a grumpy driver.
So why don’t we install something like a Camelback around the top of my seat with a hands-free sipper handy for my drink?
I mean, think about this, mechanically minded people.
You drive through Starbucks and pump your headrest full of iced cinnamon dolce latte.
It’s 2015, Year of the Hover Craft.
Yeah, I don’t see that one yet.
So I’m willing to settle.
🙂