Ford Prefect said, "Time is an illusion; lunch time doubly so." Yet we move through it, spending moments here and hours there. Considering life, the universe and everything, I've come across an odd curiousity. Every day in America and other parts of Earth, people are stuffed into metal boxes and forced to wait. They sit there, sometimes for hours at a time. For them, the time is tedious and often frustrating. The isolation is painful but mostly bearable.

That these boxes are on wheels, with most of them driven and fueled by the occupant are subtle differences between a car and a prison. We spend countless hours every year riding inside them. We simply accept the fact that we must climb into the box to get to work. And if someone's box has broken down...well, that makes everyone's time in the box longer.

Recent studies have found that the time spent in the box is growing. Increasing amounts of time are spent away from family driving to and from work. The impact on parenting is real enough. It is becoming harder for fathers to connect with their children simply because they are spending more time in the box.

My pastor loves to tell his congregation, "Love is spelled 'T-I-M-E'." Many fathers spend their time on a commute never questioning if they could move their job closer to home. Yet it's one of the first duties of a father to ask, "How can I spend more time around my family?" Fathers bring a unique element that balances out the home life of their children. Children have a need for strong, male role models. The son needs someone to look to as an example and the daugther needs someone to base her self-esteem off of. Additionally, homeschooling is not just the mother's duty. Despite advances in technology, it is still impossible for mothers to remember everything about the universe. Just as fathers balance out the home, they also balance out the homeschool.

Increasing time at home is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Bringing the office home is one option. Seeking a new employer or a branch of the same employer that's closer to home is another. This isn't something anyone takes lightly or makes a snap decision over. It may mean taking a cut in pay or other perks, but that is not as critical as we make it out to be. Having been laid off for a year, I know how little a family can survive on. The things we think we need aren't always so important. You likely will have many years to make money. You have precious few to spend making an impression on your children while they are still with you at home.

Until we find a way to perfect the Improbability Drive, we're going to do time inside these metal boxes. Finding a way to spend less time in them will do us all a bit of good. It's better than the alternative, which is just slightly better than listening to Vogon poetry.

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