Yesterday, I hurried just a few steps toward a departing train and managed to aggravate my ankle again.
The pain was only mild, and this morning I am walking almost normally. Still, the incident reminded me how little margin I leave myself during my morning commute—and how even a few rushed steps can matter when an injury has not fully healed.
Yesterday, just as I reached the platform, the train was about to leave.
I hurried two or three steps toward it, and my ankle started hurting again.
I spent most of the day walking with a slight limp, but fortunately, the setback was minor. This morning, I am walking more or less normally again.
I would like to do some stretching, but whenever I sit down on the floor, Anne comes over and starts licking my face.
If I actually lie down, she practically covers me from above and keeps licking my nose, ears, and, of course, my mouth. Sometimes I wonder how long she intends to keep going.
So despite having a perfectly good stretching pole at home, I rarely get a chance to use it.
Leaving Anne aside, train schedules are not very flexible.
I used to plan my commute so that I arrived at the hospital about five minutes before the official starting time.
But JR trains now run through to lines extending into Chiba and Saitama, and there are more connections with private railway lines as well. As a result, delays seem to happen all the time.
A safety check at a railroad crossing 100 kilometers away can cause a delay all the way over here.
Ten-minute delays have almost become routine.
Of course, if I submit an official delay certificate issued by the railway company, the lateness is excused.
But when it happens over and over again, I still feel a little uncomfortable about it.
So I stopped taking the train that got me there just in time and began taking one about 15 minutes earlier.
That gets me to the station nearest the hospital almost 20 minutes earlier.
Even if the train is delayed by five or ten minutes along the way, I still have plenty of time. And if there is a major delay, at least I can give up without feeling that I could have done much about it.
The tricky part is when I miss that earlier train.
Then I have to change my route, and the transfers become much more complicated.
That is exactly what happened yesterday.
I ended up rushing to catch a train at the last moment and hurt my ankle again.
Of course, one might simply say that I should leave home with more time to spare in the first place.
But both on the morning when I first hurt my foot and yesterday morning, my wife's preparation of my lunchbox happened to run a little late.
Normally, she gives herself plenty of time.
But the night before, we had forgotten to turn on the dishwasher before going to bed, and that threw off the usual morning routine.
My wife prepares a lunchbox for me almost every day, so I have nothing but gratitude for her.
I would never dream of complaining simply because it was a little late.
In fact, I sometimes feel that carrying the lunch she makes for me is one small way of confirming that we are still living our married life together.
Still, if I arrive even one minute late, I have to apply for one full hour of paid leave.
I still have plenty of paid leave left, but using an entire hour for a single minute feels wasteful.
It would be helpful if leave could be taken by the minute, or at least in five-minute increments, but apparently that is not how the system works.
Perhaps I could simply go back to taking my old train and slip in just before the starting time.
But somehow, doing that now feels a little like cheating.
And so, in the end, I hurried just two or three steps—barely enough for anyone around me to notice—and managed to hurt my ankle again.
Perhaps what I really need is not a faster step, but a little more time to spare.
・・・
aggravate an injury — けがを悪化させる、ぶり返させる
a slight limp — 少し足を引きずること
setback — 回復途中での後退、ぶり返し
leave something aside — ～はさておく
run through to another line — 別の路線へ直通運転する
railroad crossing — 踏切
become routine — 常態化する
delay certificate — 遅延証明書
just in time — ぎりぎり間に合って
with time to spare — 時間に余裕を持って
throw off a routine — いつもの流れを狂わせる
in increments — 一定の単位ごとに
slip in just before — 直前に滑り込む
feel like cheating — ずるをしているように感じる
#MorningCommute
#TrainDelays
#AchillesTendon
#WorkLife
#DailyRoutine
#Lunchbox
#MarriedLife
#JapaneseLife
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