The Hot Seat

There is a seat in our car that you never want to sit in. I call it "the hot seat." It is the passenger side bucket seat in our minivan and the only seat behind the front row that has no car seat. Keeping that seat in particular empty was a strategic choice, for the purpose of the seat is for its patron to serve the patrons of the car seats. Because I work most days when the kids and my wife run errand, the hot seat remains empty. Often when I go with them, the trip is short so there is no serving necessary. When the trip is long, I'm often able to convince my wife to sit back there. In short, I've been able to avoid the hot seat in most cases. It has become more difficult, however, as my wife gets car sick on longer trips when she is not driving. To be honest, I don't like driving on long trips anyway. Forgetting how much bending, turning, reaching, contorting, sorting, serving, collecting, cleaning, entertaining, counseling, disciplining, etc. goes into sitting in the hot seat, I agreed to sit there on the way home from a long and wonderful day at the aquarium, at dinner time. Needless to say, I am sore in lots of places.