...don't you hate the way your belly sinks when a phone call starts that way?
A. was in a car accident yesterday. She called me at the-moment-that-Z.-must-be-picked-up-from-day-care-or-we-are-fined, to tell me to get Z. and then come pick her up. She was three blocks from our house, not thinking very clearly about bringing a toddler to the site of a recent accident. I told her I'd meet her at home. The car, she said, was not okay. She had been turning left on yellow just when someone was barrelling through the yellow from the other direction. Because there was a car facing her also waiting to turn, she didn't see the oncoming car. The other car was an Explorer. Ours was a Civic Hybrid. The other guy wasn't hurt, negligible damage to his car. Symbolism, or just one more reason to curse SUV's. (Requiring uniform bumper height would go a long way to mitigating SUV threats on the road.)
I called day care (we weren't fined), and tried to calm myself down on the walk to get Z. We followed our (new) usual routine as much as possible. There were snacks on the patio as I periodically paced down to the top of the garden stairs to see if A. was coming yet. When she did arrive she was shaky and in great need of a hug, a little banged up with friction burns on cheek, hands, and knee from the air bag deploying. Z. and I ministered to her with hugs and cookies and lemonade and tea and ice packs and rescue remedy and arnica. Today her neck is stiff but there doesn't seem to be much bruising or burn marks--arnica is amazing.
Today I'm almost giddy. Thank god it was just the car. Thank god for insurance. Thank god for family. Thank god, thank god, thank god.
Here's the thing--in my usual state of overwhelm, I never took the car in last week, as I had planned. The hood was damaged when a panel van backed into it with open doors--that was in December--and last month some kid sprayed a streak of red spray paint along two panels on the driver's side. We did get a pay-out from the panel van's insurance, but with one thing and another I hadn't managed to get the work done.
Never say that procrastination doesn't have its benefits
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11 comments:
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So glad she's okay.
I'm sorry it happened, and glad everyone is okay.
[Yay, procrastination!]
Oh man! That's horrid - I remember the feeling I got when supermum told me about the lorry backing into our car on the side with dudelet's car seat - can't see our little Civic (yup, they're accident magnets) and apparently just kept going until a passer by hammered on his door. No one hurt but the car was a write-off (very old - repairs cost more than insured value). And I so agree about arnica. Even if I can't spell it.
That's frightening. I'm so relieved that A. is basically okay. I'm sorry that the car is not and that A. had to go through that.
Take care, you three.
So glad to hear that A is all right. Car accidents -- even if no-one is seriously injured -- are amazingly traumatic. It becomes crystal clear how close we skate to disaster.
I'm so glad you're all OK. I hope the tension fades away--that kind of incident can hang on for a while. Be gentle with yourselves.
Thanks for all the kindness coming our way. A. felt progressively worse yesterday, but felt well enough to go in to teach today (it's a half-day, luckily.) It's odd to see the contents of our car in the foyer.
Oh, my God. Thank God is right! So so glad A. is okay. My love to her (and you and Z).
Glad to hear A is better today, and it's a good thing the weekend is coming. Hope she can get some rest.
My sister was in an accident this winter, and seemed fine at first, but then the damage to her back let itself be known. Much treatment later, she is still not completely recovered. I don't mean to scare-- just wanted say that if A starts feeling worse, it would probably be a good idea to see a doctor.
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