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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Jesus take the wheel

Everything can change in a New York minute. That's what Don Henley always says. And boy is he right.


Johnny Carson defines a New York minute as the interval between a Manhattan traffic light turning green and the guy behind you honking his horn.


In other words, an instant.


A split second.


A lickety split second.


A fraction of a hair of a lickety split second.


If I were an Olympic silver medalist in swimming I would describe it as a fingernail.



One stinkin' fingernail! That's all it would take to go from being a Boho Momo shabby chic soccer mom and purposeful giver of life to becoming an accidental taker of life.



Did you just feel shivers run down your spine?



Me too!


Thankfully, it's my oldest son's birthday today so the Universe gave me a pass on tragedy, graciously preventing me from accidentally taking a life on my 15th anniversary of purposefully giving a life.



THANK YOU, UNIVERSE!


But now I am sitting in the dark, sucking my thumb and rocking back and forth.



Back and forth.


Back and forth.


Replaying over and over in my head what could. have. been. if I had been going a split second faster or a split second slower on my way down Center Street in Provo, to drop my kids and their friends off at Seven Peaks.


A car was parked on the side of the street. A mom was balancing a piece of luggage on the trunk, trying to keep it from falling. She had opened the back seat car door towards the road and small toddler jumped from the car and suddenly raced towards oncoming traffic--namely me, since I was first in line.



Everyone else in the car saw the little girl rushing towards us, causing a collective inhalation that could have sucked the air out of George W. Bush.


But I didn't see her.


Thank goodness I didn't see her.



If I had seen her I would have slammed on my brakes and run right over her.


If I had been driving a fraction of a second slower I would have plowed right into her. If I had been driving a fraction of a second faster she would have plowed right into me.


If she had been a few feet taller, my side view mirror would have given her a nasty concussion.


That's. how. close. we. came.



Shudder shudder shudder!


But because I didn't see her I continued onward at the exact, perfect, precise speed to breeze past her by a fraction of a hair. And she continued onward at the exact perfect precise speed to breeze past me by a fraction of a hair.



They say timing is everything, and they've never been more right. Just as I passed in front of the little girl, she passed behind me, nearly simultaneously, as if we had been practicing the timing all of our life.


And then her mother snatched her up out of the road and that was that.




How did I not see her?






Did I already say THANK YOU UNIVERSE!!!!!? For letting me stay the same ole Boho Momo I was yesterday. At least for today. Almost makes me want to be best Boho Momo I can possibly be. At least for today.



Fer reals, I owe you one, Universe, and I pinky promise to pay you back in full. Plus interest.



Plus a piece of birthday cake.



LY everyone!




10 comments:

Becca said...

Oh, Crash. Those moments are so horrifying. I'm all stomachy just reading about it. Why do these blessings have to come with terror? Doesn't the Universe know we can learn to GET IT without the drama? LY.

kasey said...

seriously so scary and sickening to think about! wow. I am so glad you owe the universe today!
Just so ya know, the universe has been sending lots of clouds and winds and rain to your old home town- but we are loving our life at TVA anyway- no sign of a baby yet, hopefully soon. I haven't met Martha, but I did leave a note on her office door and am planning on going to her ward on Sunday :)

springrose said...

So scary, almost makes me feel like I am going to throw up! Feeling like it is happening to me. All shaky and everything! I hate those moments, that is why I never ever drive in Utah past Brigham City!!! I can't handle the traffic and pressure and the pressure to speed, we were just there last week for a wedding. It was a whirl wind otherwise I would have called/emailed! But we saw several almost accidents! Made me take in a sharp breath and cringe every time. I finally gave up and went to sleep and left the driving to my Hubby. He can handle it better. So glad the universe gave you a huge gift today!!!!

Welcome to the Garden of Egan said...

Wow Debby. You made start crying.
You came so close. Angels were driving your car....because they totally want to be where you are.
And angels were walking that little girl....because angels love you. And love a mom.

Yes. A split second.

Leslie said...

Oh my goodness..this is so scary!!!! Thank goodness the the Lord was with you and that child and all that you both got was a scare of your life! The Universe has been good to you and that little girl!

Sandi said...

that was ME commenting up there, by the way

The Crash Test Dummy said...

Oh my goodness, Sandi. No baby yet? And you get to meet Martha! Woohoo! It's a movie star moment! Wish I was there to meet you too. Good luck to KK and KK Jr.

Susan said...

You are so lucky. That kid is so lucky. Her mom is so lucky.

Last week, two of the primary kids in our ward were killed in a car accident.

I'm glad that you weren't part of something like that. Maybe Heavenly Father made you oblivious at that moment for a reason.

Martha said...

About 2 months ago we were in front of the Honolulu Walmart and I sorta kinda felt like I caused an accident. This lady was stuck in the middle of the intersection because her light turned red while she was trying to drive across. So she was just sitting there and nobody could go cuz she was blocking our lane. So I looked to see if any traffic was coming and it wasn't, so I waved her on so she could get out of there. Well, she took super long to react and like 10 seconds later she decided to go. Well by then a car came and smashed right into her passenger side. This was like 20 feet from us and I had all the kids. It was so loud! We were all in shock and awe. We couldn't stop or anything, because it was so busy and rush hour. So we went on our merry way to Walmart. The kids kept saying "that was so scary" for the whole day.

Mariko said...

Freaky. I totally worry about accidentally backing over someone, kids especially. Especially in my driveway. I worry about it ALL THE TIME. Because I'm psycho like that.