My Guilty Pleasure: The Peace of a Long Commute Arts & Culture / March/April 2025

My Guilty Pleasure: The Peace of a Long Commute

There are no dishes to put away, no tiny toddler socks to match, and no family calendar to organize

April 18, 2025April 18, 2025 – by Carine AbouseifCarine AbouseifIllustration by Melanie Lambrick, Updated 9:01, Apr. 18, 2025 | Published 6:30, Apr. 18, 2025

The moment I step onto the platform, I take the deepest breath I’ve taken all morning. But on these mornings, as I choose the perfect seat (window, facing forward), flatten my bag in my lap, and slip my headphones on, I am almost giddy: a whole hour with nothing to do.

Perhaps it’s the eldest-daughter-working-­mother of it all, but here, there are no dishes to put away, no tiny toddler socks to match, and no family calendar to organize. Once I step on board the subway, I’m ready to settle in.

At parties and dinners, I complain to anyone who will listen about this injustice (“more than an hour!”). Read more about it here.