Diary of a Middle-aged Woman

02/09/07 - My Driving

For the past two days I was in training for a new computer system for work. I had to drive an hour and a half away from home. I already drive forty-five minutes, one way, on a daily basis to get to my job, so you would think this wouldn't bother me so much. And to be honest it didn't. I like to drive. I don't necessarily like all of the idiots that are on the road with me, but I stay alert.

However, last week I had my husband and daughter in the car with me. We were coming back from my two-year old niece's birthday party. It wasn't a long ride, about fifteen minutes. The way the two of them were acting, you would think I was driving like a lunatic!

My husband was sitting next to me in the passenger seat, and my daughter was in the backseat. As I drove toward a stop sign, my husband put his hands out on the dashboard as if to brace himself for an impact. Then, he told me I was driving too fast. I was going fifty in a forty-five speed limit. As I headed toward a traffic light, my husband, once agan, put his hands on the dashboard to brace himself.

Meanwhile, there's my daughter in the backseat telling me that I'm driving too fast, I should listen to Dad, and that "Dad is a better driver" than me! That was IT! I had it with the two of them. How dare they act that way when they are in the car with me! Do I drive faster than my husband? YES! My husband drives like an old man for crying outloud. He only drives in town during the day to get to his job and take my daughter to school. He doesn't go on the major highways, sometimes for weeks on end, since I run all of the errands. The speed limit in town is twenty-five miles an hour. When my husband does drive on the highway, he still drives way below the speed limit. He is the type of driver that I stay away from when I'm driving. I try to tell him that you can get a ticket for driving under the speed limit too since a state trooper will think you are acting suspicious and trying to hide something. Like driving under the influence. My husband doesn't believe this.

You would not believe the conversations that go on inside the car while I am driving. All I hear is, "you better watch out for this guy", and "you should be driving five miles below the speed limit," or "if you don't brake now, you'll be in his backseat", and the real kicker, "you're going to kill us!"

We pulled into the driveway and I told them that they are not allowed in the car with me anymore. I'm sick of the two of them and their attitudes toward me and my driving. I am a good driver and I don't need the two of them being 'backseat drivers' while I am trying to get us where we need to be. It's nerve-racking.

As for my daughter - she was the biggest disappointment. I glared at her - you know, the 'mom glare' - just to drive my point home. (No pun intended!) A traitor in my midst. "Dad's a better driver than you" will haunt her. Wait until the next time she wants to go to the mall!

You know, if I had a history of getting into one accident after another, I could see them acting this way. But that isn't the case. I've decided we will take two cars wherever we go. Of course, I'll probably get there a half hour before my husband since he is "Slow-Moe" on the road. However, the cost of the extra gas is well worth the price of my sanity and nerves.

Have a Great Friday!