Baby On Board

This ad posted in our New York Subways is humorous and fun, but the underlining issue is real and no joking matter. 

I can't throw my entire generation under the bus, literally, but there are a handful of you that aren't getting the bigger picture.

Growing up my mother owned and operated a low-income senior citizen not for profit organization. From a very young age I was taught that these elders held the key to our future and they should always be treated with the utmost respect. The bare minimum of this respect is to offer up your seat on public transportation, open doors, help with groceries, etc.

We the youth have a civil and moral duty to respect the people who have made it possible for us to have the present and future that we do.

The line isn't drawn at seniors, it absolutely applies to expecting mothers. Maybe people don't realize the daily struggles a pregnant women faces. 

If we could offer our seats freely it will eliminate just one of the obstacles a pregnant women on the go faces. 

Yesterday I was riding the subway with my friend who recently became a father, a pregnant women piled in the overcrowded subway car heading downtown and hovered over my friend and I with a prominent baby bump. Without question we stood and offered both our seats and she graciously accepted. The reaction we shared was instinctual, it makes me wonder where is the disconnect between us and the several subway patrons who held on to their coveted spots without blinking twice at this expectant mother. Maybe I'm bias   because I've been that women covering my belly trying to find a safe nook that no one would fall on me and my beloved, maybe my friend remembers the mother of his child's trials and tribulations during her pregnancy, maybe we just empathize because of personal experience, maybe..

 One thing confuses me.. didn't we all come from a woman? Don't we all have mothers that were once pregnant on a bus or subway, or needed to buy groceries and just needed help with the door? Would these same people not aid their own mother if she were looking for some relief after a long day of growing life inside her body? I hope this generation can get back to the basics and remember what curtesy and compassion are. 

Nothing irks me more than seeing a strong young person vegging out on a seat while a weak senior citizen or pregnant women are holding on to a tiny pole for support in hopes of making it to the next stop without falling. We can do better. I was once that woman and I will never forget the people that took the time out to open doors, offered seats, or just extended a genuine congrats!