For many years, men have found themselves in a difficult position when it comes to deciding who should occupy the front seat of the family vehicle between their wife and mother. This is especially challenging for men who live and work in urban areas and own a vehicle or two. The situation often becomes complicated when the mother visits her son and his wife in the city and wants to take the front seat.
A recent incident that occurred in Nairobi’s Karen estate exemplifies this dilemma. On a Saturday morning, a young lady slapped and ejected her mother-in-law from the front seat as they were heading to the city centre. According to a gardener who witnessed the incident and spoke to the Nairobi Journal, the mother-in-law had visited her son, a bank manager, and his lawyer wife, on Wednesday, January 25, 2022.
On the morning of the incident, the family was preparing to drive to the city centre to purchase household items using one vehicle. The mother-in-law decided to take the front seat, but the wife arrived and found her mother-in-law sitting there. The wife promptly pulled her out and told her to take the back seat. The elderly woman got out of the car and initially decided to stay behind, claiming she would rather prepare to return to her village in Kitale.
It took two hours of convincing before the mother-in-law agreed to get back into the vehicle, but by then, she had already decided that she would leave and never visit Nairobi again. The daughter-in-law was unmoved, and after the drama, the mother packed her things and left for the village. The gardener narrated that the incident was embarrassing for everyone involved.
In conclusion, the question remains, who should sit in the front seat of the family vehicle? It’s a sensitive issue that requires tact and diplomacy to resolve. It is essential to communicate and set expectations beforehand to avoid such unpleasant incidents in the future. Ultimately, it’s up to the family members involved to decide who takes the front seat based on their individual circumstances and preferences.
