Baby on board!
Yesterday was the first time I actually plucked up the courage to ASK for a seat on public transport. It was on the bus on the way home last night, and I was having round ligament pain cramps and really didn't think standing up on a bus driven by a driver with a tendency to brake sharply was a good idea. My poor victim was a smartly dressed young guy sat on one of the folding seats, with his face buried into his iPhone. The bus was packed and I got a slight glare for standing too close, causing my handbag to get in his face, which was the deciding factor! He was SO apologetic. I think perhaps there's something shameful about having a pregnant woman ask for a seat in front of a packed bus full of passengers perhaps, that made him say sorry he didn't see me over and over again. He then congratulated hubby and asked if it was our first.
Even though I know it's actually sensible of me to ask for seats, I still feel bad when I take someone else's. A man with his wife stood up as soon as I entered the train carriage last week and gave up his seat, and I felt guilty as they chatted over my head for the half hour ride! The next day they were on the same carriage so I purposefully got on a different one so he wouldn't have to stand up again! How silly is that! As it turns out, the next carriage along wasn't as friendly and I had to stand there looking around pointedly til a rather put out lady offered me her seat. Then at the next stop the woman across the walkway got off, which REALLY pissed off hubby, so he quite loudly said that she should have given her seat up if she only had one more stop to go. He then thanked the lady who gave me her seat and let her sit down.
It's amazing how manners in this country seem to have disappeared though. Being pregnant has made it even more apparent to me. People shove past you on stair ways at train stations. They pretend to be engrossed in books or the newspaper when you get on a train, hoping someone else will offer you a seat. Kids are just as guilty as adults. Every morning they al climb off the bus and walk three abreast along the pavement chatting or faces buried in their blackberries, walking in to me. I now pointedly stand stock still refusing to move on to the road or grass verge, resulting in a shoulder barge or them executing a last minute dodge. When I was a kid, you let adults board the bus first, not jostle to get on before them. I know I know I sound like an old fart, but it really bugs me that manners have gotten so shoddy! I even had to stand up to give my seat on the bus to an elderly passenger last month! The only pregnant woman on the bus giving her seat up for an old man, whilst everyone else sat safe and cosy in their seats. It sickens me!
Ok rant over. I swapped coats today and forgot to put my badge on today so we'll see what my journey home tonight is like...
Even though I know it's actually sensible of me to ask for seats, I still feel bad when I take someone else's. A man with his wife stood up as soon as I entered the train carriage last week and gave up his seat, and I felt guilty as they chatted over my head for the half hour ride! The next day they were on the same carriage so I purposefully got on a different one so he wouldn't have to stand up again! How silly is that! As it turns out, the next carriage along wasn't as friendly and I had to stand there looking around pointedly til a rather put out lady offered me her seat. Then at the next stop the woman across the walkway got off, which REALLY pissed off hubby, so he quite loudly said that she should have given her seat up if she only had one more stop to go. He then thanked the lady who gave me her seat and let her sit down.
It's amazing how manners in this country seem to have disappeared though. Being pregnant has made it even more apparent to me. People shove past you on stair ways at train stations. They pretend to be engrossed in books or the newspaper when you get on a train, hoping someone else will offer you a seat. Kids are just as guilty as adults. Every morning they al climb off the bus and walk three abreast along the pavement chatting or faces buried in their blackberries, walking in to me. I now pointedly stand stock still refusing to move on to the road or grass verge, resulting in a shoulder barge or them executing a last minute dodge. When I was a kid, you let adults board the bus first, not jostle to get on before them. I know I know I sound like an old fart, but it really bugs me that manners have gotten so shoddy! I even had to stand up to give my seat on the bus to an elderly passenger last month! The only pregnant woman on the bus giving her seat up for an old man, whilst everyone else sat safe and cosy in their seats. It sickens me!
Ok rant over. I swapped coats today and forgot to put my badge on today so we'll see what my journey home tonight is like...
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