I’ve got a beef with those folks who drive suburban commuters insane – the bunny-slipper mothers. Admit it, we’ve all been in this situation; you are running a little late for work, but there is still a chance you could marginally get there on time.

You are tooling along just a fraction over the speed limit when a yellow leviathan with flashing red lights ahead plunges your mood to doom. A school bus!! School buses don’t stop at the end of each street and pick up a group of little backpack laden, sleepy-eyed, sneaker clad kiddies as they did in my very distant youth.

Oh, noooo…. in these days of pedophile-paranoia, the bus stops at EVERY driveway. That, in itself, is frustrating enough, but I go completely around the bend and over the falls when the Mom at each driveway puts one slipper-clad foot on the bottom step of the bus, hefts her oversized latte mug to her lips and commences to kibbutz with the bus driver.

This woman is just shipping the major annoyances of her day off for seven and a half hours. She’s got the newspaper tucked under one arm and in her hand she’s got that steaming coffee and more waiting in the house, no doubt. This woman has the TIME to yuk it up with the bus driver.

I, on the other hand, do not. I have a full day of work ahead of me and I am already reciting my anti-stress mantra. I truly resent the complete lack of consideration the bunny slipper mothers have for those of us trying to get to work.

Can they not see ten cars of commuters lined up behind the bus? Can they not see the steam gushing out of our ears? Can they not hear the anguished moans and sometimes curses that would really be an education for the little ones? Maybe not. Maybe they have just forgotten what it means to HAVE to be at work at a specified time.

So here’s a little FYI for the bunny slipper mothers. We hate you. We hate that you get to shuffle back into the house and read the paper at your leisure, refilling the latte mug as often as you please. We hate that you are surrounded by quiet and can do whatever it is you do all day) when you are good and ready. You can let the phone ring and only answer if you want to when you have checked the caller id. You can flip through a magazine until it’s time for your manicure.

But most of all, we hate that you make us late because you don’t even notice all the cars with ticked-off drivers who are required by law to sit idling on both sides of the road while you and the bus driver catch up on the latest soccer gossip.

You were probably one of us BK (before kids) and you will probably be one of us again one day (those kids you send off each day to elementary school will be needing big cash for college before you know it).

So have a heart! Keep it brief. Load ‘em up and head ‘em out, so we can all get where we are going and should have been 10 minutes ago!

(And, yes, I am well aware that I should be leaving for work 20 minutes earlier than I do. And I will……someday soon.)