This morning, I couldn’t tell if I had just received one of those calls you just don’t want to get. My husband called me 5 minutes after leaving to take Kelsey to school and said, “Boy, you weren’t kidding about that black ice! Oh, I’ll call you back.” and hung up.
*dramatic pause*
Forward to 5 seconds later. I’m grabbing a pajamamed Laurel, putting her arms into a jacket, her hand still clutching a spoon with Honeynut Cheerios dripping from it, grabbing pink fluffy boots for her toes, running out the door with her in my arms. Put her in her car seat, try to de-ice the windshield. Run back into the house to grab a spatula to get the ice off my windshield.
Yes. A spatula.
I finally get on the road, driving cautiously. On the radio, there’s an update on traffic conditions, and a woman’s voice says, “Yeah, be careful out here. I just passed a green Jeep Cherokee in a ditch on McLeansville Road.”
That’s my Jeep. That’s one-half of my family. My heart is now in my throat.
Now, the ending to this story is a happy one. I get there, and both Allen and Kelsey are fine. I get my family all into one vehicle and pull up next to our Jeep, and make the calls that need to be made, placate the husband who was breaking down in the aftermath, but trying to be all strong and manly.
Tow truck comes 1.5 hours later; tire guys put tire back on rim and re-inflate; we clean off the mud stuck in all the rims at a car wash (before it turns into concrete); we come home. Allen’s recollection of events, by the way, is here.
Next time, he knows to call me and use his few words more effectively. I mean, if you have a 13-word limit phone call after an accident, try something like “Kelsey and I are fine. In a ditch. Come soon. Love you.” (total words: 12) .
[...] Kelsey and I were physically okay, but I had to cut the call short because of some unexpected help (Terry has her own version of events which describe that far too short phone call, so I’ll let her tell that part of the story). I [...]
Oh, that is so not cool. I’m so glad they were okay. Dammit, Allen, Slow Down!