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Who Is Driving?
A Question for Couples
I was not surprised to learn that my estranged husband always takes his car and drives when he travels with his girlfriend even if he always insisted we share the time behind the wheel when we traveled. It’s part of being a “perfect” partner for someone new which can be annoying to watch but is all too common.
I have known many men who would never let their significant other drive when they went somewhere together. I’m not sure about their motivation, but I guess it was some kind of macho man desire to be in control in some cases. In my opinion, it was just chivalrous. They would let their wife relax in the passenger seat while they took on the stress of driving.
This was not something I enjoyed when I was with my husband. He would drive if I insisted, but he expected me to share the burden even after I became disabled in 1999 because of a stroke. My psychiatrist suggested he was just giving me a vote of confidence regarding my rehabilitated driving ability by asking me to at least drive one way of most journeys in the car.
I didn’t appreciate being expected to drive. I lived in chronic pain and only had the use of my right arm. Why couldn’t he be that guy who always drove?
To be fair, there were many, many tasks around the house I was not able to share such as diaper changes…
