Make Up Driving

Ten years ago I worked with a woman that came into work one morning with one of her eyes all red and puffy. I thought she had been crying and didn’t want to pry, so I ignored it and went about the day.
Later, I overheard her telling one of her friends that she had been putting on her mascara while she drove to work. The puffy eye was from when she got distracted and poked herself in the eye.
I thought about how foolish that was to be putting on make up while driving down the road. I didn’t understand why in the world a woman would do that. Why? Why would someone risk themselves by being vain and putting on makeup while they drove down the road. For goodness sakes, wake up five minutes, ten minutes earlier and put your make up on before you leave for work. Jeez…
Then I had an experience.
Earlier this week I didn’t get much sleep because Squawk was fussy. Wife had the BRILLIANT idea to turn the volume down on the alarm clock so that when it went off, it wouldn’t wake the baby. NEWS FLASH! It won’t wake anyone else, either!
So I was tired and late when I got out of bed. As I got out of the shower I pulled the covers off of Wife and told her that she needed to dress Kat while I got dressed so that I could get out the door ASAP.
While trying to figure out what to shorten or cut out of my daily routine I stuck my teethbrush in my shirt pocket and put a bottle of water in my coat pocket.
After I got Kat to daycare, I added paste, dunked it in the water and brushed my teeth as I drove to work. When I pulled up to a stoplight at the edge of town I rolled down my window to spit and realized the woman in the car next to me was putting on her make up.
OH. MY. GOD. I realized then that she, that lady, and I were the same person!
Because I was running behind, I was the lady putting on his make up. Sure, I didn’t use blush or mascara or foundation (really I don’t) but I was in the same boat that she was. It was more convenient for me to brush my tooth while driving down the road so that I could save time and still carry out my morning routine.
Not that I am necessarily a poor planner and for all I knew, neither was the lady in the car beside me with my teethpaste spit on her trunk, we were just trying to keep up with the beginning of a day and get done what needed to be done.
Never again will I adopt a smug and superior attitude when I see someone involved with their morning routine while they drive down the road. I will be more understanding because I now know that there, but for the grace of a good nights sleep, goes I.