The tyranny of the timepiece

Getting Matthew out the door in time to get to school by 8:30 is sometimes a challenge.  Rachel doesn't want him riding the bus because of the Bad Influence on our street, so I drive him.  It's not really on my way to work but it is on the way to the bakery that makes decent croissants!

I haven't had to Be Somewhere On Time every morning since I graduated from college almost 9 years ago.  (The life of a programmer is many things, but regimented is not one of them.  Not anywhere I'd care to work, at least.)  It's kind of stressful.  I miss taking my time and leaving when I'm ready.  I'm not sure why, but I can feel the adrenaline in my system driving him in.  Maybe because punctuality is just the first taste of the conformity our factory-style educational system enforces.

Probably most of society just accepts their clock-ruled schedules as the Way Things Are (with maybe a dash of un-sympathy for nonconformists like me) but going back to it after a long break makes me wonder a little how this came to be Normal.  Starting each morning with a jolt of commute-fueled adrenaline isn't exactly healthy.