It is time for a change, and for me, this is a big one. When I first started riding on the vanpool, I quickly started riding shotgun in the passenger seat up front. I was so big that I didn’t fit into the seats in the back, and I had a difficult time getting in and out of the van in the back. Unlike the front passenger seat, there is no handle to assist getting in and out – and I could not just step in. Since no one seemed especially interested in the front seat – I started using it – and have done so for the four years I have been riding.
We recently added a new rider, who struggles with motion sickness. I’m glad to give up my seat to make her ride a little more comfortable – and ecstatic that the reason I first began sitting up front no longer exists! I fit easily into the bench seats in the back – and can swing up into the van with ease. (OK, maybe “with ease” is a slight exaggeration – my knees are old and rickety – but it is no longer related to my weight!)
What a joy it is to be in a position where I can make a choice for someone else’s benefit – without balancing that against my very real incapacities. Two years ago, even though I would have WANTED to make this woman’s ride more comfortable – I would not have been able to ride in the back. I might have tried to that anyway – but it would have meant extra time getting in and out of the van – which ultimately, would have delayed everyone else on the van from getting to where he or she needed to be.
This is a non-scale victory that I am truly celebrating!
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