No Cuts!

True that.

The SJG loves a short cut, but then, who doesn't? If there's a way around traffic, I'm going to find it. I'm a fan of the side street, the alley, the secret maneuver that gets me there faster. Only, it rarely works. Sometimes my short cut lands me in worse traffic than if I'd just stayed on the more straightforward path. Or I turn down the wrong street and end up lost.

So, what does this tell me? I'm so glad you asked. I've always adored you. What it comes down to is this: Short cuts fail more often than they succeed.  Most importantly, short cut can also be spelled shortcut and it means exactly the same thing. You save one space with shortcut, but what does it really get you in the long run? Not much.

Any time I've tried to fast forward through anything, it's only worked when I'm holding a remote control.

Raising kids, cobbling together a career, sorting through assorted heavy duty life issues, all of that stuff takes time. A lot, a lot of time. There's no jumping ahead, no taking a giant leap past everyone else. "Ha ha, bitches! Outta my way. I'm going places and I'm getting there before you!"

The only significant thing I learned in school: "No cuts!" Back then, I thought it meant, "If you step in front of me in line, I will hurt you." But now, I realize it goes much deeper than that. "If you try to rush past me, in your pathetic quest to save time, get ahead, succeed, or get the new iPhone before me, you'll just get sent back to the beginning and have to start all over. Much like an endless game of Candy Land."