There used to be a cartoon on my grandmother's refrigerator that said, "God put me on this earth to do a certain number of things. Right now, I am so far behind that I will never die!" I got reminded on Thanksgiving evening that as silly as that cartoon was, it is pretty accurate.
The family met at my uncle's house in Jonesboro for our Thanksgiving meal. I and 4 of 5 of the children planned on continuing on to Nana and PaPa's house for the weekend. Daddy let the 4yo and 6yo slosh through the ditch ruining their shoes and pants. Thankfully, I had their clothes for the trip and we changed on the back deck.
Well, everyone said their goodbyes and we were on our way. My folks in the truck with 2 kids and me in the van with the other 2. We didn't even get to the interstate before we realized we had left the muddy clothes and must turn around. Then back on the road again for about 20 minutes before we had to stop for gas and bathrooms. After hitting I-16 we had to pull off to find Gorgeous's arms. She had pulled them into her sleeves and could not get them back out. It gets dark early now. I didn't sleep much the night before, so I did not complain when Blondie asked for a restroom break. (You just don't get far with kids in the car.)
Coffee purchased and potty used, I told my passengers no more stops until home, please. Nana and I had been alternating who was in front of who on the road. She was back in the lead. As we approached exit 62, I noticed cars parked along the side of the road. Georgia law requires you to move over one lane when there are vehicles in the emergency lane. No problem.
BIG PROBLEM!
Nana's truck suddenly swerved back right. It's amazing how fast your mind can work when something is happening. I knew instantly that there must be something extremely wrong and hit my brakes as my fingers disengaged the cruise. The thought that I might have to fight it to slow down crossed my mind. I wanted to hit my emergency brake but it is in the floor and I had both feet on the regular brake. I came to a halt about 15 feet from a car sitting across the entire lane. There was silence from the 9yo and 23 mth old but a glance in the mirror showed they had been kept in their seats in the farthest back bench seat and that there were cars still coming up behind me. I hit the flashers as I began searching for a way out.
The car in front of me had obviously been hit by another car. It's primered side was dented. The interior light was on showing no signs of anyone still being inside it. The emergency lane on the left hand side of the road was blocked off because of construction. Cars were coming up along the right hand lane. I waited. Three cars passed before I could pull out and around it. I drove about half a mile down the road and pulled off.
That was the longest few seconds of my life. I took a deep breath and called 911. They had already dispatched help. Then I dialed Nana.
I did not get to see where the truck went after it's sudden maneuver. I had not passed it as I got the van to a safe area. My little "mud pies" from earlier were in there with my parents. The first attempt did not go through. She hung up as she answered. I dialed again. This time she did get it answered. She had fallen apart. Apparently, she had been forced to sharply steer the truck up the exit ramp before slamming to a halt. As PaPa said, her ambulance training kicked in to handle the vehicle. Then she didn't know where we were. He had to work hard to get her moved to the passenger side so he could get the truck moved somewhere safer. She had seen a man on the side of the road waving frantically just before seeing the wrecked car. If not for him, she might not have noticed it.
If not for the truck suddenly turning in front of me, I wouldn't have known to stop.
If not for one of those potty stops... gas stops... coffee... All those delays just timed to keep us out of the wreck.
When we got to the house, I hugged my mother and told her she saved our lives. Her driving kept the truck and passengers safe. Me seeing her do it focused my attention to where the real danger was.
God kept us alive that night. I am sitting here typing very aware that that list of items on God's agenda must not all be checked off.
I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for my children. I am thankful to be alive. I am thankful that I am not done yet.
Did you have a wonderful, thankful Thanksgiving?
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