In 1992, I was a new mother of a beautiful baby boy. My mother-in-law offered to watch him briefly but insisted she would hang out with her sister, and they would need to drive somewhere. I wasn’t super happy about this, but for whatever reason, I had somewhere to go and needed the help.

I showed the pair how to use a car seat when they arrived. I explained how to buckle it in the car. I told them it needed to go in the back seat with my son facing the rearview window. I offered to set it up myself, and they assured me they would do it and not to worry.

When I arrived home a few hours later, I saw the car seat in our apartment living room. I forget what, but something clued me into the fact that my son had not been strapped in at all. I asked about it, and my mother-in-law arrogantly said they piled the car seat with blankets, set it facing the front windshield in the front seat between them, and didn’t strap him in. They were worried he would have been uncomfortable.

You know how you can get so angry you can see red? My head filled with blood so quickly I thought I was going to faint. That they were just driving around the Los Angeles freeways with my new baby unsecured in the front seat makes me furious 31 years later. Her behavior was so dismissive and disrespectful to me as a new, young, and nervous mother.

I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with any members of that family anymore.

EDIT: I would also like to mention that this scenario gave me nightmares for a long time, having disturbed me and my trust in other people to a large extent. My MIL was completely unapologetic about ignoring my request and placing my infant son in danger. I told her and her sister to leave my home immediately. Looking back as a grandmother now, I am flabbergasted at the level of disrespect and arrogance.