Maybe I’m the backwards one here

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that we bought a new car. I outlined some of the reasons and that my husband would be using this car to commute to work.

My mother-in-law sent me a text today (after we had a text conversation about something else) asking if Hubby took the car to work. Umm, yeah? Kinda why we bought it…

Long story short, I told her that was what it was for and that the cost of gasoline in the van was outrageous. She then said something about being more worried about breakdowns. In other words, while I’m in the van.

I have run into this line of thinking before, where it is expected that the woman, regardless of whether she has small children, takes the new car and the husband drives the hunk of junk to work.

While it isn’t always the case, the woman is typically not employed or not the main breadwinner in these situations. Much like me, they need a car to grocery shop, go to soccer games, and maybe meet with friends. While I do understand the desire to have the children in the better vehicle, it still seems backwards to me.

First of all, if my husband is stranded somewhere on the way to work, he isn’t earning an income. While I am at the local pacemaker, buying cabbage, he is risking being reprimanded and even possibly losing out on our livelihood.

If the lesser vehicle breaks down on the way to get cabbage, I just don’t get cabbage.

I have driven small children to Minnesota and Ohio, completely alone. This was before cell phones were what they are now. I never had a problem, even when I had car troubles. I am not a helpless flower that will wilt if the car overheats. I have all day to think of a logical plan, and then I deal with it. My husband, the person that works, not so much.

I have a cell phone. We have an emergency kit in the back that has flashlights, blankets, flares, snacks, and so on. I have basic mechanical knowledge (more than Hubby, to be honest), and parents and/or friends I can call for minor issues. For bigger issues, I have roadside assistance on my auto insurance.

It really bothers me that we have come so far in this society with female equality (we could do better but it has certainly improved) and a woman who otherwise doesn’t take any crap from anyone thinks that I am too helpless to drive a 10 year old van. Nevermind that I have been doing it for the past year. Now that we have a new car, I am suddenly too frail.

I’d rather know my husband is secure since he has time constraints and a job than to look cool with a new car in my driveway, since I never go anywhere anyway. Even if I did, where would I put five kids?

And besides, the van isn’t going to break anytime soon anyway. We just had it in the shop the other day. Other than a hose that we had replaces, it was running like new… Mike Tyson isn’t going down any time soon.