I'm trying not to blog for every single run, but today has been a really interesting day for me. It's been one of those days where everything seems to come full circle and I realize how grateful I am to be where I am. Let me rewind a little bit.
January 22, 2009. Yep. I'm going waaay back to the beginning of this horrid year. I don't know about you, but this hasn't really been the best year. This date is one that will stick with me probably for the rest of my life. It is the day that God and all of my guardian angels were looking down on me. That Thursday morning started off like any other morning. I left the house with both kids in tow and picked up Gavin's friend, as it was my morning to take the boys to school. I decided that morning to take an on ramp that I usually avoid like the plague. I don't know why I took it and to this day, I still can't tell you why I took it. As I got on the on ramp, there was a car that was stopped on the on ramp. Traffic is usually pretty bad on I-20 in the mornings and that morning wasn't any different. For some reason, I thought that I could merge around the stopped car and on to the freeway. I looked behind me, hesitated for a second and then gunned it...thinking that I would have enough time. I was wrong.
I was hit by an 18-wheeler on the driver's side. The 18-wheeler was going about 60 miles an hour. I was going about 30. The force of the impact sent my 4Runner spinning. I swung around, hit the stopped vehicle on the on ramp, spun around 2 more times before stopping short of an embankment. The 18-wheeler went down the embankment and stopped short of going head first into a ditch. Traffic on the freeway came to a dead stop. I looked in my backseat and immediately checked on the kids. I was so grateful that they were all okay. Both of my kids and Gavin's friend were okay. I stepped out of my car and surveyed the damage. I had never in my life been in something like this, let alone be the CAUSE of something this bad. Two people came running up to me and I could hear the sirens in the distance. I was shaking and could only say that I was so sorry and ask if anyone had been hurt or killed. I was completely shocked when all of the parties involved WALKED AWAY from their vehicles. No one had been seriously injured. God and my angels watched over me that day. I was lucky to be alive and so very lucky that my kids, Gav's friend and the other 2 drivers were also alive. Needless to say, this is something that has stayed with me over the past year and is something that I don't know I'll ever completely get over. I have not blogged about it until now because of insurance settlement reasons and because of my shame and embarassment. It isn't something that I'm proud of.
Fast forward to today. We were on our way to drop off some things at a consignment shop and then possibly meet up with some old friends that were in town for the Aggies/Georgia game for lunch. We were 3rd in line at a stop sign when the person in front of us plowed into the back of the person in front of her. We immediately pulled over to make sure that everyone was okay. The driver that hit the car was shaking badly and had injured her left leg, neck and back. The driver of the car that was hit stated that she felt all right. We stayed until the police came and Mark wrote a statement for the police report. It's just amazing how one distraction or one stupid decision can impact so many different things and so many different people. We weren't able to meet our friends for lunch, however, on the way back we took I-20. I asked Mark to drive by the scene of my accident, as I haven't had the courage to drive by it since it happened. As we approached the scene, a very similar incident took place and the vehicles in front of us almost merged into each other. Kind of eerie, but it was good closure for me.
What does this have to do with a run? It has everything to do with it. The accident came 8 days before my first marathon. I didn't know if I could go through with it and I didn't know what to do. I have an amazing support system. People supported me in my most stupid and shameful moment. It also reminded me that I am still alive and able to run. Today's run was not a great run. Every joint in my body hurt and I feel like crap. But I'm alive and able to feel like crap. I'm alive and able to say, "Crap run today, but there will be a better one next time."
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