The Results Are In

Hey Dad,

Last week I asked you…

“If you’re a guy who lets your wife drive when you’re together, how does that make you feel? Is it a no big-deal-thing…or does it bother you? I’d love to hear your thoughts.”

Well, hundreds of dads and some moms weighed in and…I was surprised. Actually, I went into the exercise thinking I could guess the outcome, and I was wrong. What I thought would have been an issue of dads feeling like they got pushed out of the “driver’s seats” was not the case.

Yes, a few responded with those words, but the vast majority shared that they had physical problems that hindered or limited their driving time, that their wives suffered from car sickness and driving helped the symptoms, or that they shared the responsibility with their wives.

Many dads who couldn’t drive shared that they felt “looked down upon” for not being in the drivers seat. And to my shame I think I have been guilty of doing that when I didn’t know the whole story.

Actually, you’d think I would know that by now, because I was one of those disabled guys at one time. 20 years ago I was in bad car wreck. Months later when I could finally drive I still wasn’t able to walk very well. One day we were driving and my wife wanted to run the car through the drive-thru car wash. We did, and then she said, “I think I’ll towel dry it off so it doesn’t streak.”

She then proceeded to jump out of the car being very pregnant and towel dry the van while I sat behind the wheel and watched. It was then that I had the strange feeling that I was being watched…and I was. A guy in the car next to us watched the ‘bum in the van watch his pregnant wife towel dried the van.” I could just read his mind. It read like mine would have read, yet he didn’t know the whole picture.

That’s my take away from my little question. I don’t know the whole picture. Yes, some men may have been pushed out of the driver’s seat, but  a vast majority of dads have good reasons for riding shotgun…and it’s none of my business.

So whether you drive, ride or push…

You ‘da dad,

Todd