Please Feel Free to Lay in My Lap

Traveling is exhausting. Even when the purpose of the trip is rest and relaxation, getting to and from a destination can be difficult and the journey can be long. Traveling for work always created added stress for me. Life at home doesn't stop because one person is in another state. Responsibilities still need tending and being unavailable for the day to day needs of home and family makes traveling a bit trying.

Travel by plane offers a unique set of challenges:
To check bags or not to check bags...
Getting through security without having to turn over the $9 makeup you forgot was in your bag...
Reaching the departure gate on time...
Boarding without nailing a fellow passenger in the head as you pass through the narrow middle aisle...
Finding the right seat belt parts and extending them to their limit so you can actually buckle them...
Remembering that the other 179 people who are on a plane with you have just experienced every bit of what you have prior to sitting down...
And most of all, deciding whether or not to put your seat back for the duration of the flight...

On the radio the other day, a discussion was held regarding that last travel challenge. Should you put your seat back or not? Is it ok to do because you can or is it rude?

Do you remember the scene in Dirty Dancing when Patrick Swayze is teaching Jennifer Gray how to hold her frame while she dances and he shows her what area is her space? Well, I submit that the space directly over my lap, just in front of my chest, is my space. When the stranger in front of me lowers the seat back to sleep in flight, he or she is basically sleeping in my lap.

Maybe if I was shorter and didn't require a lot of leg room or if I was thinner and didn't tend to spill over into the seats on either side of me, I wouldn't mind as much. Maybe then there would be ample extra space allowing my neighbor up front to spread out and take a snooze. But I doubt it. My lap is my lap. Unless you have properly introduced yourself, bought me dinner and drinks, and I have invited you to rest in my lap, you cannot do so. It's presumptuous and rude.

Now please return your seat to the upright position. Or I might have to jostle my tray table around and laugh loudly for the next two hours.