I drive a lot…. in Chicago traffic! Pause for a moment and say a prayer for me. LOL! Seriously though, Chicago traffic is known to be one of the worst in the country. Unless you are driving around at 3 am, there is ALWAYS traffic. Some sides of town are better than others, but wherever you are headed, chances are you will encounter a backup or two. I love my SUV, and I do love to drive. I actually love road trips. What I don’t love is bumper to bumper traffic.
I recently talked about how horrible my commute was when going to work from my mother-in-law’s house in the Western Suburbs. Wow. Wow. Wow!! There were many a day when I wanted to just pull over and cry. If you are not familiar with Illinois traffic and I-55, let me tell you… it is a beast! With no traffic, my commute to work would have been about 40 minutes. However, add in rush hour traffic and it sometimes took 1.5 hours to get to and from work. And during a storm, it took 2.5 hours to get home from work.
What kept my sanity? Music… lots of music! I have two different music moods when it comes to driving. The first? It’s no secret that I’m a house music lover. On my morning commute to work, I usually turn on one of my favorite mixes and jam out while trying to ignore the fact that I’m not moving. Even my kids know many of the songs.
However, sometimes when I’m driving…. alone… when no one else can hear me, I put on my playlist of songs that I love to sing. Nothing keeps the sanity and helps pass the time more than belting out some of my favorite R&B tunes. I have a playlist full of songs that I just love to sing! It makes me think about how amazing the mind works. We can remember and retain so much information, like the words to 125 of our favorite songs. We can sing our favorite song while still remembering the rules of the road and important vehicle safety info. We trust our cars are built of strong materials like steel to keep us safe and our music to keep us occupied.
And, thanks to modern technology, we are blessed to have modern cars that help expand our listening ability. I love that my SUV has Bluetooth technology that allows me to connect my phone. Pair that with my unlimited data plan, and it means the possibilities are endless when it comes to listening to music. I can pull up Spotify while driving and listen to various playlists that others have created. This is a great way to discover new music. I checked out the Ultimate Driving Playlist, full of a mix of R&B, Rock, and more songs all about cars and driving. There were a few songs that I know very well, and can sing all of the words too, like Prince’s Little Red Corvette, and a few others that were new to me. I’ve even added a few of those to my own playlist.
I’m now inspired to create a few more playlists. I need one for cleaning, cooking, taking a bath, and unpacking. Because, music not only keeps me sane while driving, but also while working around the house.
How do you deal with long drives? Do you have any go to playlists that get you through? If so, share them with me. You can also check out my Spotify profile and find some new tunes!
Check out the Steel Matters blog for important information and driving safety tips.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Steel Matters. All opinions are my own.
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