Account manager Debbie Nielsen commutes from Falling Waters, W.Va., to our Washington, D.C., office.

Commuting. It’s a sometimes grueling ritual you can never really get used to — particularly when it consumes nearly six hours of your day. It’s easy to focus on the negatives, like having to wake at 4 a.m. to get to work at 7:30, or how last winter’s unexpected snowstorm kept me trapped on a bus for 15 hours. 

I could tell you all about the physical and emotional discomfort that arises after a couple of hours on a bus in a cramped space, hip-to-hip and shoulder-to-shoulder with a stranger who does not understand the concept of personal hygiene. 

Or I could try to describe the frustration of having to spend an hour or more in a bus line during a cold, hard rain because the bus broke down, or grumble about the misery of standing for 45 minutes on a subway car stuffed to the gunwales in 90-degree heat without air conditioning. 

And then there is the distress brought about by my own awkwardness — like the day I wore two completely different shoes and noticed that everyone stared at my feet. Blissfully unaware of my little fashion faux pas until I returned home, I was horrified, of course, but grateful to suffer the embarrassment in private.

There was also a day very recently when — in trying to uncoil and hoist myself out of my seat — I reached in front for support and pushed down rather forcefully to pull myself up, only to realize that my hand was actually atop a bald head! 

And regretfully, there is the almost daily occurrence of running over someone’s feet with my computer bag.

While all of those things are unfortunately true, commuting is not so bad in the overall scheme of things.

For example, I don’t have to drive to work. In fact, my commute is the time when I can watch TV (without having to fight over the remote), listen to music, read a book, check my bank balance and look at my personal emails. Thank you, Steve Jobs, for the iPad — I don’t go anywhere without it!

Also, I commute with my husband, Mike. And while we may not always get to sit together, I take comfort knowing he is aboard.

As I think on it, the commuting experience has probably taught me to be a little more tolerant. It allows me to interact and connect with people that I might never have met otherwise, and it reminds me that the value of even the simplest gesture of kindness is immeasurable.

Like the time I gave my frozen water bottle to a guy who looked even sweatier and more uncomfortable than I felt — on the hottest day of the year. Or the rides when I’ve given my seat to those who clearly need it more than I do, even when all I want to do is sit.

I suppose I couldn’t do this if I didn’t like my job. And I don’t just like my job, I like the people I work with. We all care about what we do, and that’s important because it translates into the work we do. For me personally, it means the journey back and forth is one worth making.