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FOR MOST of us long- distance commuters, this weekend marks a welcome break from the daily grind--getting up at 0-dark-30, hoping the socks we pulled from our drawer in the dark match, fumbling for lost keys, and hitting the dusty trail when decent folks are still in bed.

There are a lot of negative things we could say about commuting. We could talk about the short daylight hours, and how many of us leave and arrive home in total darkness. We could talk about day after day of rain, and the terrible traffic jams that result.

But instead of grumbling yet again about the bad aspects of our commutes--after all, an easy mark--I thought I'd list a few things we commuters can be thankful for, in the spirit of the season. "Thankful," you may snort, still popping Alka-Seltzer for the aftereffects of Thanksgiving Day indulgence, "What's good about commuting?" I must admit that finding something, this week, was a bit of a stretch.

This week was a rough one. Tuesday night was crammed solid with activities, and I didn't get to bed till quarter past 11. Wednesday came too early, as it always does, and it was my day to drive the van.

The morning after pretending I lead a normal suburban life, rather than this nomadic existence, is usually not too bad. The fact that I've had only four hours' sleep doesn't kick in till the middle of the afternoon, and then it comes with a vengeance. It's the drive home that's usually brutal.

This Wednesday was not just any Wednesday; it was the day before Thanksgiving, the Mother of All Wednesdays. We usually leave for work by 4:30 a.m., and then there's practically no traffic on the way in. That morning, there was an either disabled or wrecked semi on the Beltway, plus wet roadways yet again. Maybe there was some connection between these two conditions, and maybe not.

That evening they gave us all two hours of excused absence, I took an hour leave, and we hit the road south by 1 p.m. On an ordinary weekday, the roads would be empty that early in the afternoon, but I think they were letting everybody out the same two hours early, which just moved rush hour up.

The only difference was that the HOV lanes were open to all traffic, and I don't know if that hurt or helped. To make a long story short, there were a couple of wrecks, police were out in force along with legions or rubberneckers, there were traffic jams galore, and it took over two hours to get home. That's not too bad.

On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, it has sometimes taken me three or more. But I knew we were in trouble when we saw those flashing signs up around Lorton declaring that traffic was jammed up till Exit 143.

A rough commute all around, one of the worst of the year so what's good in all this? What can we find to be thankful for in the midst of such carnage, gridlock and human misery?

For starters, obviously if we're commuting, we have jobs. We live in a great and historic area and, if we haul ourselves up around D.C. every day, it stands to reason we likely have high-paying and prestigious jobs as well. Otherwise we'd just be masochists.

Normally, that's something we'd all take for granted. In today's economy, however, just having a job that pays the bills, and a high-paying cushy job as well, is saying something. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment hasn't been up over 10 percent for more than 25 years, since 1982.

We might hate the commute, but I'd wager that just about anyone would have to admit they'd rather do the commute than get laid off. If that's not the case, then you're better off just staying in bed.

Second, you should be grateful if you work for the federal government, or have another generous employer who gives you paid holidays and occasionally extra time off. Though traffic was heavy all the way home, it was far lighter than it would have been if we'd had to leave at the usual time, and we still got to the commuter lot before 4 p.m. Not too shabby.

We could go on and on. If you have to commute, you most likely have not only a decent job, you have a home and a car as well. And the freedom to live where you want and work where you want. And all the other blessings of the modern American life, cramped and gridlocked and burned-out as it can be.

The nightmarish traffic of Black Wednesday was quickly forgotten as I headed through the door to the noise and bustle of my family, two hours earlier than usual. That was gratefully forgotten as I got to sleep till the decadent hour of 6 a.m., and as we sat down to the feast--the turkey and all the trimmings--that hard work and long commutes had made possible in this land of plenty.

Recently, we've been made much more aware of the many people in our communities who can't even put regular meals on their tables, let alone the traditional holiday feast.

It's these times with our families that make the small miseries of the road--and small they are in comparison with those faced by many in our communities and around the world--worth the trouble. Let's remember that as we head into the season of winter storms and shopping traffic.

Christopher Tripp of Spotsylvania County commutes to Rockville, Md. Write him c/o Commuter Crossroads, The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401, or e-mail newsroom@ freelancestar.com.

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