Making Way for Family Decisions

On the way home from dropping the boys off at school, a fire truck turned on its sirens and the cars beside, behind, and ahead of me, swerved to the outside lanes to let it pass. Whenever this happens, I am flooded with mixed emotions. I feel a sympathy rise up for whoever is on the other end of the call, sometimes I whisper a prayer. But I also feel an overwhelming sense of duty and pride, that above all the bickering, the road rage, the differences of my fellow citizens, we all submit to making room to help  those in dire straights (hey, I know it's probably illegal not too, but I am an idealist and it's a nice practical image)!
My husband and I went on a date last night. We used to go on a date about once a week, every other week. This has been our second date in 5 months. Yikes! The downfall of moving cities and babysitters! Oh, and also having a little baby again....forgot how hard that can be for the sitter!
We coupled our date with a school meeting we needed to attend, so our time at dinner was really precious. Wow, didn't realize how much we needed to discuss. And yet, we could only skim the surface. If only the emergency response team of family decisions parted the minutes of the clock and made them wait on the sidelines so we could hash out our life! Nothing terrible, but life decisions all the same---schools, future homes, church---the topics we as parents and husband and wife must share like-mindedness, as well as plan a clear next step.
After our dinner, we pushed along, showing up late to the school meeting, and allowing the minutes to crowd our way, to keep us from tending to our own neediness. 
I don't want to let the clock push us past where we need to go by the mere mention of a topic at a 30 minute dinner. I want to discuss, to weigh our options, to put the clock on hold so we can prepare for the clear next step. As I grow up, I realize how much time can be an obstacle, just like a giant eighteen wheeler is to a rushing fire truck.
Hopefully, we will carve out time in the busy traffic jam of life, make our pit stops, instead of letting emergency decisions grow disasterous from crowded lanes of time. I don't want those pesky minutes to get the best of us!