A friend just came over for a visit and we decided to go out for lunch, so we walked to my car and got inside. As I was looking behind me and backing out of my carport, she also craned her head to look behind us to make sure it was safe. I said to her, “I don’t know how I’ve been able to drive safely all this time without you.” We both laughed and she apologized, saying it was just habit.
So, I told her my parents’ story. It was the late 1940’s and my parents were newly married and driving over the Bay Bridge into San Francisco. My mom was back seat driving and I guess my dad had enough of that, so he pulled the car over to the right side on the bridge and put it in park with the engine running. He walked around to her side of the car, opened her door and said, “If you think you can do a better job, have at it.” My mom said, “No thank you,” and that was the end of that. They were happily married 49 years before she passed away.
I guess it runs in the family.
Written by Susan 4/25/18
Just think of how different their marriage would have been if she had gotten out and gotten into the driver’s seat.