Offering Up Your Seat

Everyone gives up their seat for a pregnant lady. That's just the way it goes. This is not even in question (and for those of you who don't give it up, and you know who you are, well you are just low, low, low).

But what if you're not sure that the woman you want to offer your seat to is actually pregnant? What if you make that terrible mistake of offending and embarrassing a woman in front of a subway car full of gawkers?

That was my dilemma this morning on my ride to work. I spotted a woman, who, at first look, I thought had a bun in the oven as they say, and as I was about to get up to offer her my seat, I stopped. I wasn't sure.

As a friend pointed out, I could have just gotten up and offered her the seat anyways, but the problem was she was about eight to ten feet away with about six people in between- all hungry for a seat.

So if I just got up to give her the seat- I couldn't just point to her and say please sit here and all those seat-hawks would have jumped the second I got up from my precious little spot. And tapping her was out of the question–she was too far away to do the light tap and face of concern, which means hey I want this seat, but you look like you need it more look.


So I just sat there and felt a little guilty, but very comfortable.