Thankful

Yesterday, S, E, and I were in a car accident.  Thank God, we are all fine.

We were driving on one of the main roads in our town when we went through an intersection.  The light changed from green to yellow as we passed through, and apparently the driver behind us sped up to run the light because he smashed his F250 smack into the back of our tiny hatchback, completely crunching in the back end. 

As soon as it happened, my mind immediately turned to E and panicking whether she was alright.  She had started screaming the second the impact happened, and I was so afraid she was hurt.  I jumped out of the car faster than I knew was possible and climbed into the back seat with her.  She was uninjured, just scared.  Once I got her out of her car seat she returned to her normal, happy, babbling self and I knew she was ok.  S and I then checked with each other to make sure we were alright.  I think we both have some whiplash, as my back, neck, and head really hurt last night, but I am feeling much better even today.

Of course all that matters is that we all are safe.  Our car, unfortunately, is not, but that is only a minor blip on my radar after knowing how much worse it could have been.  (In fact, S had spent that entire afternoon in the trauma department at the hospital resuscitating and working on a man who had been in a car accident, who lost so much blood that S had to throw his clothes and shoes away, and who they still don't know if he will survive.  Talk about giving us some perspective.)  I am thankful that the man who hit us had good insurance, and that they are taking 100% responsibility and paying 100% to get our car repaired (or replaced, depending upon how extensive the damage is).

It might sound stupid, but this incident made me remember how thankful I am for my beautiful, healthy little girl and my amazing, patient, loving husband.  They really could have both been taken from me in an instant last night -- a thought I don't even ever want to think about. 

Prior to the accident, I had been ranting to S about some petty drama our neighbor was causing and how angry it makes me, and how I was having such a great day until the neighbor got me all pissed off.  Of course, none of that matters now, in context of how lucky I am to have such a great family and great life.  Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a near-miss like this for me to keep in perspective how blessed I truly am.

That said, I'm going to give S and E an extra squeeze tonight, and try harder not to sweat the small stuff.