It was my last week of work. My sitter had already begun her training at the preschool and was loving her new job. My replacement at work was catching on really fast and I felt so much peace knowing my boss would have an adept helper after I left. Another girlfriend was watching my boys during the day. It made my commute a little longer because of traffic, but our children had a lot of fun together so I knew my boys didn't mind the earlier mornings and later evenings.
On that particular Tuesday evening I was headed to pick up the kids. Traffic in that area of town was always heavy. These side streets fed major shopping centers and were the main non-highway routes. I was on the last stretch of my commute when it happened.
Brake lights.... squealing tires.... crash! I took a quick stock of myself: Nothing hurts like it's broken, my sternum is going to be sore later from the seat belt. Thank God I was wearing my seat belt! Thank God the boys weren't with me! THANK GOD IN GENERAL. My car had shut off and an eerie smoke crept up between my seat and the console. Yep, time to go!
I opened the door with more force than should have been necessary. The other driver was out of her car and we asked each other if we were OK. We both said yes and I began the call to emergency services. That's when I saw it, the driver had walked back over to her car and was consoling someone in the back seat. SHE HAD KIDS IN THE CAR!?!? OH GOD, PLEASE LET THEM BE OK. I was almost in tears as I went over and asked about the kids. She had her two daughters with her. Thank God they were all wearing seat belts! I got off the phone with emergency services and the other driver and I started piecing together what happened. To avoid an accident with the driver ahead of her, this lady had to slam on her brakes and swerve. I didn't have the maneuvering or stopping room so I hit her. The lady said to me that the guy ahead of her caused the accident and she knew there was no way I could have avoided it. Thank God again, we weren't yelling or screaming at each other - this was the most amicable accident in the history of the world!
We both started thinking about getting off the roadway. Her car was drive able so I stopped traffic so she could get her girls into the parking lot. My car was out of commission and I checked to make sure there wasn't anymore smoke. The cabin seemed clear but I stood on the sidewalk anyway (we later realized it was the smoke from the other driver's tires). I called my husband:
Me: "Hi honey, you know how you have been wishing we could get rid of the Taurus?"
Him: "Yeah....."
Me: "Well I took care of that, I just wrecked it!"
Him: "Wait, what!? Where are you!? Are you OK!? I'm coming right now!"
I love that man of mine. :)
I told him where I was and the other driver and I laughed about how I told him I'd wrecked. Emergency services had arrived and I we both started updating the officers. The fire department pushed my car into the parking lot. While they got our wreckage out of the way, I asked the other drive if it would be OK if I showed her daughters pictures of my boys to help them feel a little calmer and she said it was. These were the most precious girls I'd ever met! I showed them pictures of my kids and our two dogs and the girls seemed to cheer up a little. One of the firemen came over to check on the girls and I. The girls told him they were OK and he didn't leave until he was sure they really were. Love our fire department! :)
The girls' Mom was telling me that this was the 2nd time she'd been hit in a month. The first time a truck backed up ONTO HER HOOD!! She had just had her front end replaced. I laughed and said, "Well see, I ran into you so you could have an updated back end!" We both chuckled.
Longer story shorter - my car was totaled. I was thankful for that because it was older and was developing more and more issues as the months wore on. It had been good to me, but it was time for our car to rest in peaces (or pieces). The upside - the settlement from the insurance company was more than what we owed! We were able to remove a bit of debt from our books and I believe we can be a one car family. That means even though I'm not working anymore, I just eliminated and reduced some monthly costs when I ran into the nicest lady you could ever have a car accident with.
On that particular Tuesday evening I was headed to pick up the kids. Traffic in that area of town was always heavy. These side streets fed major shopping centers and were the main non-highway routes. I was on the last stretch of my commute when it happened.
Brake lights.... squealing tires.... crash! I took a quick stock of myself: Nothing hurts like it's broken, my sternum is going to be sore later from the seat belt. Thank God I was wearing my seat belt! Thank God the boys weren't with me! THANK GOD IN GENERAL. My car had shut off and an eerie smoke crept up between my seat and the console. Yep, time to go!
I opened the door with more force than should have been necessary. The other driver was out of her car and we asked each other if we were OK. We both said yes and I began the call to emergency services. That's when I saw it, the driver had walked back over to her car and was consoling someone in the back seat. SHE HAD KIDS IN THE CAR!?!? OH GOD, PLEASE LET THEM BE OK. I was almost in tears as I went over and asked about the kids. She had her two daughters with her. Thank God they were all wearing seat belts! I got off the phone with emergency services and the other driver and I started piecing together what happened. To avoid an accident with the driver ahead of her, this lady had to slam on her brakes and swerve. I didn't have the maneuvering or stopping room so I hit her. The lady said to me that the guy ahead of her caused the accident and she knew there was no way I could have avoided it. Thank God again, we weren't yelling or screaming at each other - this was the most amicable accident in the history of the world!
We both started thinking about getting off the roadway. Her car was drive able so I stopped traffic so she could get her girls into the parking lot. My car was out of commission and I checked to make sure there wasn't anymore smoke. The cabin seemed clear but I stood on the sidewalk anyway (we later realized it was the smoke from the other driver's tires). I called my husband:
Me: "Hi honey, you know how you have been wishing we could get rid of the Taurus?"
Him: "Yeah....."
Me: "Well I took care of that, I just wrecked it!"
Him: "Wait, what!? Where are you!? Are you OK!? I'm coming right now!"
I love that man of mine. :)
I told him where I was and the other driver and I laughed about how I told him I'd wrecked. Emergency services had arrived and I we both started updating the officers. The fire department pushed my car into the parking lot. While they got our wreckage out of the way, I asked the other drive if it would be OK if I showed her daughters pictures of my boys to help them feel a little calmer and she said it was. These were the most precious girls I'd ever met! I showed them pictures of my kids and our two dogs and the girls seemed to cheer up a little. One of the firemen came over to check on the girls and I. The girls told him they were OK and he didn't leave until he was sure they really were. Love our fire department! :)
The girls' Mom was telling me that this was the 2nd time she'd been hit in a month. The first time a truck backed up ONTO HER HOOD!! She had just had her front end replaced. I laughed and said, "Well see, I ran into you so you could have an updated back end!" We both chuckled.
Longer story shorter - my car was totaled. I was thankful for that because it was older and was developing more and more issues as the months wore on. It had been good to me, but it was time for our car to rest in peaces (or pieces). The upside - the settlement from the insurance company was more than what we owed! We were able to remove a bit of debt from our books and I believe we can be a one car family. That means even though I'm not working anymore, I just eliminated and reduced some monthly costs when I ran into the nicest lady you could ever have a car accident with.
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Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests to made known to God. — Philippians 4:6