Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Crash!


A funny thing happened on the way to guitar lessons. We were on the street in front of the music school and a woman in a Ford Explorer got a little tired of waiting to turn left and did it any way, without really checking the traffic and plowed right into us. Paige and I were okay and since I knew it would take awhile to deal with, I sent her to her lesson while I waited for the police. I had to get my car out of the street, which was a new experience with three wheels working and one smashed in, sort-of underneath the car. It was a slow dragging, driving, rubber being peeled from the tire kind of motion. It felt very wrong to be trying to drive a car that way but I didn't want to be hit again because I was in the middle of the street.

Debbie, the other driver, was not hurt but when she went to grab her jacket out of her car she found that one of the two dogs in the car with her had gotten so upset he had peed on her coat. Her car was very drivable, with just stratches on the bumper. You know what they say about accidents, the bigger car wins.

Paige was a trooper, no panic or tears, just headed off with her quitar strapped on her back. I think she was thrilled to have the adventure to share at school. My children have now determined that Kendra is the only one in the family who has not been a passenger when mom had an accident. Also, when I called Dave to tell him, he was meeting with our friend Scott. Scott mentioned that they were together the last time I called Dave to tell him I had been in an accident. From the way these people are talking you would think this is a weekly event.



Dave spent the evening unhappily shopping for minivans on-line. He was hoping that buying a minivan had been a once in a lifetime experience but here he is again. He kept asking, "does it really have to be a minvan?" He knows the only other alternatives that will accomodate 5 people (3 of whom are growing everyday) and the big dog are a van or an SUV. The kids suggested a van like the church has (a long 18 passenger) or a station wagon. Not going to happen. We also all know Dave is NOT going to pay to drive a gas guzzling SUV and they many times don't have that much room anyway. I told him to not think about buying a minivan for himself but that he is buying for his wife. His little convertible will have to wait. So for the time being the Gifford's are the proud owners of a 1994 Toyota Camry with the bent antena that just reached the milestone of 200,000 miles as our only form of tranportation.

I hit the car door with a little bit of force so I am a little sore and have a bruise on my right thigh and didn't sleep so well but I know I have so much to be truly thankful for. I had planned to shampoo the inside of the van, fill the almost empty tank and get that cracked windshield fixed. We also had an emissions test coming up and weren't 100 % sure it would pass, something about a cadilitic converter acting up. So needless to say I am glad I procrastinated on all those details. Seriously, I know that God protected us from harm on a busy street at rush hour. He continues to bless us with what we need and more. (Dave saw a few used vans with heated seats and automatic sliding doors, talk about luxury!)



An added blessing is that Paige made to her lesson and is now working on "Colorado Rocky Mountian High" as her next piece so life is good.




Rose