Dream vs. Reality

So today was a perfectly lovely day for biking to school and work, but Ashby fell first.  She woke up with sore throat and runny nose.  Because it was a work day for me, keeping her home was out of the question, but I thought that riding would potentially push her over the edge, so I opened up the minivan option.
However, I insisted that Addie would make it.  But then, everything fell apart when we realized that Addie was carrying about ten thousand pounds of gear in two giant bags. So...defeated. We took the minivan.
By the time 3:30 rolled around I was stuck in an enormous line of traffic travelling north up Oak Park Avenue.  It was a beautiful sunny day outside, but here we were, captives in our own cage.  Alas.  I turned around to realize that Ashby was sound asleep.