I’m two days in to our second week of school. Transitioning from summer mode to full-on school is always a shock to the system, and this year has been no different.
This past weekend I checked in with a friend who’d agreed to participate in a 30 mile fundraising bike ride last weekend–after not having ridden a bike in decades! (Talk about a shock to the system!)
“”Can you walk? How did it go?” I asked immediately, as she answered the phone.
Once she figured out what I was talking about, she laughed and filled me in. “It went well! There was a sag wagon that ran alongside, so if you got tired, you could get on that. I rode most of the way, but got on the sag wagon at the end, because we had reservations and needed to be on time. “
At first, I mostly ignored her accomplishment (sorry, Mels!), because I was immediately transfixed by the idea of a sag wagon. Having never participated in a bike race, this was a new term to me.
“OMG! I want a sag wagon! I think everyone needs a sag wagon in their life!” I declared.
I love this idea so much! The more I thought about it, the more I loved it. I imagine everyone’s sag wagon would look different, too. In the case of the bike race, it was a literal wagon, with room for bikes and tired or injured riders. But, couldn’t we have metaphorical ones as well? The things that provide us with a bit of respite or just a breather? I’m pretty sure that my Friday night sag wagon last week looked like most of a small Margherita pizza and a generous glass of red wine. Sometimes a sag wagon might be a conversation with a friend or time spent within the pages of a book. Or watching the birds. Or just saying “No” to a pile of work and walking away for a while.
It just struck me that we probably do already all have our own varied sag wagons, but that’s not enough. The harder part is that each of us needs to decide when to stop and hop on board. A sag wagon is not going to grab you and your bike and make that decision for you. You have to recognize that it’s in your best interest to access that wagon so you can keep moving forward and eventually finish the race, one way or the other.
“Congrats!” I said to my friend, “That’s impressive! You did it!”
“Well,” she hemmed, “I didn’t ride the whole way. I did get on the sag wagon.”
“You still did it,” I insisted.
“Yeah, you’re right,” she said. “I guess I did…Thanks!”
I’m not sure this sag wagon metaphor works on all levels, but I’m definitely going to keep thinking about it.
Nix the comfort zone 
To continue your metaphor…knowing there was a sag wagon provided reassurance for me to attempt the ride and keep going, but also motivation and desire to ride my bike more often!
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Oh! Thanks for chiming in, Mels! I love your continuation of the metaphor.
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A WHOLE lot to say about a sag wagon. I think I want one with me, maybe at all times. What a fabulous metaphor!
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Molly, I think of Sag Wagons as a metaphor for asking for and accepting help. Something I am still working on. Bob
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I’m kind of obsessed with this sag wagon metaphor. Wow. I think I need to send this to my friend who was telling me how overwhelmed she is, but how much better she feels after talking to us. We were her sag wagon, and she needs to remember we’re by her side whenever she needs!
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I love the idea of rescuing ourselves from ourselves and naming that our “sag wagon.”
I love the idea that I can be, for others around me, their “sag wagon.”
I love that, as Melanie says, a “sag wagon” (or a literal sag wagon) can not only provide reassurance, but “also motivation and desire.” A near synonym for sag wagon might be safety net.
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The Sag Wagon reminds me of an expression I used as a middle school teacher and applies to all teachers, I believe. “Everyone deserves an off-day and a day off.” Cut the kids/folks in our lives a little slack!
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Allow me to sag here …. Ah, such a comforting feeling from scratchy scalp to tired feet. Glad for your deal pa, “Mels”, for all these supporting thoughts, for a new way of thinking of downtime, zone out, chill.
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correction 🙂 dear pal “Mels” ….
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Yay for new metaphors! This one could be so helpful! Thanks, y’all. (I also like what Dan has to say about off-days and days off :))
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