2/14/2008


Well, here I am again! I have lots to update on; some musings on makeup, a fun sewing project, how I treat my kids for colds and flu. Today, though, here's the latest. . .

Last Friday, Sarah and I had taken Noah (her 4 year old), Benji and Ava to COSI (for those of you who don't live around here, it's our local children's museum) for the morning. We were on our way home after lunch and were hit by another car as we were making a left hand turn. I was driving, and all I remember was hearing Sarah in the passenger seat scream, being really annoyed that there were white things in front of me that blocked my view (the airbags), and then finally actually feeling the crash and realizing what had happened.

I had a really hard time dealing with the aftermath. I laid in bed for two days straight afterwards. Every time I closed my eyes I could hear Sarah's warning scream, the mean, concrete crush of the cars hitting together, and Benji screaming in panic and terror. My body hurt so badly, and all I could think of was "what if. . ." If I had been going about 1 second faster, the car would have plowed into Sarah's door, about two seconds faster, and it would have hit Ava's door.

At some point during those two days, my mind started replaying more than just the sounds of the accident and I remembered something that I had told Benji on the way home afterwards. "Did you know that Jesus had His arms around us when we crashed?", I said to him. "Well, mom", Benji said indignantly, "I didn't see any arms!". It made others chuckle when I told them, but as I thought about it, I realized that if I looked closer, I really would be able to see His arms. They're Sarah and Noah and Ava, who walked away totally unharmed, they're the kind, capeable police officers who came before we thought to call them, they're the auto engineers who thought of "crumple zones" for the front ends of cars, they're the fact that I'm sitting here today typing this and not in a hospital with a broken body.

I could fill the rest of the page with examples, but I think you get the point. I'm no longer chewing on the guilty thoughts of being a bad driver, endangering the lives of my friends and children, or worring about the insurance companies. I'm reminding myself each time I see the palm-sized bruise on my knee that it's there because my Heavenly Father was squeezing me so tightly to keep me safe.

I did sustain some minor injuries; bruising on my left knee, bruising on my chest and abdomen where the seatbelt was, a burn on my left hand from the airbag chemicals, and spinal and muscular damage. Benji's neck was hurt, but we're both being treated by our chiropractor and are feeling almost totally better.

In case anyone is curious, I did get cited for the accident, simply because of where I was at the time. Accidents are called "accidents" for a reason, but there is still the law that has to be satisfied. We're waiting to hear from our claims adjuster about the liability, best case scenario would be that they would be able to get some admission of guilt from the other driver and our insurance company would only have to pay for the repairs on our vehicle.

I'm sure someone has read all the way to the end of this and is still wondering what in the world that picture of Alec and Ava has to do with any of this. . .
That picture is evidence of the distinct benefit of having a school-aged child who can read and a toddler who loves books! Alec kept Ava so happy for lots of the time that mommy was in bed trying to hide from the world and recover. Thanks, "Ah-yah" (as Ava calls him)! And thanks, Marvin, for keeping the kids fed, happy, and doing the dishes from Friday night till last night! (I got a cold on the tail end of accident recovery!) I'm sure you'll be very relieved to come home from work tonight and find me up, dressed, and smell dinner on the stove. I can't promise the house will be cleaned, though, because Benji is sick now!
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3 readers took time to leave a thought:

Unknown February 14, 2008 at 5:08 PM  

I'm so sorry to read about your accident. I'm glad that everyone is okay.

Sara Kay February 14, 2008 at 11:12 PM  

Wow, Shelly. Glad to know you're all okay!

Shelly February 15, 2008 at 9:39 AM  

Btw, everyone who is reading this, please, please, please wear you seatbelts, and take the time to make sure your kids are buckled in the right way and your carseats are installed correctly. Also, carseats that have been in an accident are supposed to be replaced; our insurance company is reimbursing us for new ones.

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