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A Meditation On The Middle Seat

For all those middle siblings forever destined for the hump seat on family road trips—this one's for you.

Rachel Malak

Jun 30, 2019

Fordham University

Rachel Malak

At the end of a recent family vacation to Austin, Texas, my family and I concluded with a quick round of rose & thorn: the best and worst parts of our week down South. All 5 of us agreed pretty quickly that all the hours in the car, driving around Texas—with my two sisters and I squished in the back seat, nice and tight—was a standout "thorn." But, as I reflected a bit more on the trip, I realized that some of my favorite parts—the laugh-til-we-cry, sing-at-the-top-of-our-lungs moments—happened in our rental car, all three sisters practically on top of each other with my mom and dad in the passenger and driver's seats, respectively. And with that, I present to you, "A Meditation On The Middle Seat":

Family vacation

June Texas heat

Two hundred square miles

Three sisters, a single car seat

We're all grown now

No boosters, no snacks

Still cranky, still sweating

The A/C's on max

The radio's playing

Can't decide on a station

GPS spits orders

British accent frustration

"Stop singing so loud!"

"Your leg's in my space!"

"I don't feel the air!"

"Did we forget a suitcase!?"

We all know the struggles

We all know the fails

Swirling stench of sunscreen

Forgotten postcard mail

Sister's headphones

Playing loud

Dad's rough driving

Through weird Austin crowds

Every destination

Met first with defeat

Two hundred square miles

Three sisters, a single car seat

Outer thighs touching

There is no escape

Me, stuck in the middle

Only sister still awake

As I gaze out the window

Straight ahead, through the dash

My mind goes to memories

All gone by in a flash

Me and my sisters

Shoulder to shoulder to shoulder

When we thought about the future

What it'd be like to be older

How many car rides we shared

In this very position

Before life got stressful

Before dreams came to fruition

So maybe we bicker

Some jokes are too pointed

But time spent with sisters

Has never disappointed

Even for each time

We stop to roll our eyes

A cherished memory forms

Wiping out the white lies

We remember the friendship

The bond we'll always share

The time we sweat in Texas

Our first adult memories we made there

And so we drove on

Long street after street

Two hundred square miles

Three sisters, a single car seat

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