Chicago Traffic

This last Thursday and Friday, I travelled with my two wee ones up north to Chicagoland. There was a workshop on "Labor Techniques" in Streamwood that I wanted to attend Friday morning. One of my fellow Bradley Method teachers was hosting and I am really glad I went. As a hands-on learner, it was great to see demonstrations and wonderful to try some stuff out myself. I also had a chance to network with some Chicagoland Bradley teachers and put some names to faces, rather than just knowing their email ID. ;)

While we were up there, I was able to obtain much-needed copies of the kids' birth certificates and have lunch with a good friend. I then stopped in Donovan to drop off Molly's birthday gift and hang out with my Uncle Bill and the Schmidt family for awhile. All in all, it was a good trip (minus the times with a screaming, crying Kellyn in the back).

However . . . . if there are ANY times when I am reminded of my gratitude for our move to Champaign, it is most poignant while sitting in Chicago traffic! It took me 1.5 hours to reach the southern suburb of Country Club Hills, where we used to reside. It then took me 1 hour and almost 45 minutes to reach the North end of Chicago to Mundelein where we stayed at a friend's house on Thursday night. So, it took me MORE time to traverse across the span of Chicagoland than it did to get from central Illinois up to Chicagoland in the first place! And the tolls???!! They are now officially ridiculous at 80 cents a pop on 294 and in some areas, more than that. Weren't the tollways originally set up as a way to pay for that highway they were constructing?! Okay. Well, here's a newsflash . . .the highways are done! I understand there is *always* construction and improvements that need to be made to roads and that the money has to come from somewhere, but c'mon people! I really don't know how people in Chicago commute such large distances for work. Sitting in that traffic and paying for the tolls on a very occasional basis is one time too many for me.

I much prefer the smaller city life, where I can get just about anywhere I need to go in 10-15 minutes. You go much past 15 minutes out here and you start hitting cornfields . . .In college, I found that humorous. Now, I find it comforting.