You have a local map in your car, right? How many people don't have a map of the county or state where they live in their car, right now, raise your hand? Hmm, alright.

Well, I almost had to get mine out this evening just trying to get across town. Picked the boys up at school at 3:20 and by the time I took them to the restroom and got them to the car and changed the younger boy's pants because he had a big rip in the right knee (hand-me-downs!) which I hadn't patched soon enough, apparently so it ripped bigger, it was 3:40. Their after-school computer class starts at 4 but it only takes 15 minutes -- tops -- to get to the class from their school. So, 33 East towards Freehold to 527 North, oh, look at all that traffic on 527 South, oh, it must be a detour, wow, there's so much construction around here -- right onto Main Street towards Tennant -- stopped, traffic backed up.

That's alright, turn around, everyone's doing it, continue North on 527 towards Englishtown and I'll sneak down 522 to the Old Tennant Church -- stopped, traffic backed up in Englishtown. That's alright, turn around, go south again on 527 and right onto Woodward Road -- no way I'm gonna sit in that traffic trying to get from 527 to 33 that I saw earlier, so back to 33 and the intersection with their school. 4:00, computer class has started and we are starting over.

Take 33 East towards Freehold and take Business 33 towards route 9. Route 9 north is closed because, as I find out later from my husband, of an accident in the morning which took out utility poles. I'm forced by police to cross over route 9 and remain on Business 33 past the Race Track which is open, so cars and people are coming and going. Plan to turn left onto 537 East into Freehold but traffic is backed up so I change lanes at the last minute and force cars going left to squeeze by me as I head straight across and remain on Business 33. Along the way, the kids, who have talked of nothing else all week but this computer class, lament ever getting there. And rush hour traffic is starting, 4:20. I'm afraid that we will arrive as class finishes and I'll have as much trouble getting home.

Once I crossed 537, Business 33 was smooth sailing and I picked up route 79 north, got through a couple of lights in town, got out of town and up 79 to East Freehold road and the YMCA is right there. As we traveled up 79, Kenny commented, "I bet we are going to be the only ones who make it there, Mom, because you know all the roads." Whew, that's something I needed to hear because I was feeling pretty bad and frustrated.

Pulled into the parking lot at 4:30 and made it to the classroom by 4:40. 50 minutes of driving, Google says, about 8 miles. The real mistake was trying to get through Englishtown. And maybe the wait at 527 and 33 would not have been bad enough to justify going back to Woodward. But, the big stumper was route 9's closure. I always refer to it as "the nightmare on 9" because of two separate construction projects for the past three years.

And do you want to know about getting home? They wanted McDonald's again, just like last week. Well, traffic on route 9 southbound, towards the closer McDonald's, was all backed up to the Wegman's. Very, very unusual. So, I went North on 9 to Marlboro and took them to the McDonald's near 520. Then, not wanting to go through Tennant again, I tried to take 520 home but Texas Road is detoured.

I must have taken a wrong turn or followed the detour without realizing it because the next thing I knew, I was on 527 south, going through Englishtown. And it looked as if the traffic congestion in Tennant was cleared up. We got home 30 minutes later than usual and, for the most part, the two younger boys were ready for bed. And the eldest, after doing his homework, he went right to bed too.