The Commute

Almost every morning people get up and prepare the usual routine to get to their jobs. One aspect of this routine is the daily commute. Normally I don't mind this ritual because I spend most of my time catching up on my reading.

Lately it's been difficult for me to make the commute because I'm in pain and/or because I have appointments to get to during the day. It makes no sense for me to drag myself downtown to go to work then to haul to the doctor in midtown and then have to go back downtown to finish out my day. Luckily my boss doesn't mind me working from home on these occasions.

But today's commute was a very pleasant one. My husband decided to drive me to work. And my fellow commuters were my two dogs! Who am I kidding? It was the best commute ever.

The smaller dog sat on my lap for most of the trip and decided she didn't like a lot of what she was seeing on her commute. She didn't like the pigeon walking in the street and she certainly let him know by barking at him. She thought the doorman at one building was a little suspicious so she pointed it out by yapping. She notified us that she thought one statue was not appropriately placed. A little while after pointing these items out, we stepped off my lap to get some water in a bowl that is set behind the front seats. She lapped at the water happily.

In the meantime, my bigger dog saw that my lap was free and decided it was a perfect time to sit next to me. She gave me her paw and cuddled into my side. It was very relaxing. I noticed however that most of her fur was ending up on my suit jacket. Oh well I thought.

The little dog finished up her water and wondered how she was going to get back on my lap. She kept trying to jump past her sister but she couldn't find a space. A few minutes later, I felt her digging at my feet. She had crawled under the seat to get to me. She jumped up on my lap and I had two very pushy and adorable co-commuters trying to angle into my space. If a human had tried to take up all this room on the subway, I would have been highly perturbed and vocal about it. But when you have very big eyes and fur, I'll let you do just about anything!

I think more of my commutes should be this way. I certainly wouldn't mind all the hassle of the morning routine. Or maybe more people on the subway should let me rub their ears when they are pushing into my seat.