bumper cars

Three years ago, I got into a car accident. One could hardly classify it as such, but it's listed on my driving record, so that's what we're calling it. Zack was a toddler and I was driving my trusty old minivan. We had just moved to Vegas and I was a bit turned around in the new city. I was turning right at a red stop light and basically rolled into the car in front of me. I was probably going 2 miles per hour- if that. After the "bump" I pulled to the side of the road to assess the damage. An older (ugly) couple jumped out of the other car and basically attacked me... calling me all kinds of names and swearing up a storm (the F-word included several times.) I tried to remain calm and tell them that I was sorry, but they were screaming so loud, they couldn't hear me. There was zero damage to my car and I couldn't see anything wrong with theirs, but they insisted that we switch insurance information. If I had known better, I would have gotten the cops involved so that they could take our statements at the scene of the crime. But I figured it was such a minor thing... I had no idea they were going to screw me over and claim that my little bump would cause all kinds of damage to their car. (My insurance paid out over $3700.) I came away from that accident in tears. I was positive that everyone who lived in Vegas was mean, ugly and terrible. The past three years have proved otherwise.

Today I got into the same kind of "accident" only my car was in front. I was on my way home from a 3-hour adventure with the kids (lunch with Aaron, the library, grocery shopping at Sam's and a quick stop at the outlet malls to ride the Carousel).. I was turning right at a red light when someone hit me from behind. It was a big enough bump for the kids to ask what happened, but I knew immediately that it was more like a bumper-to-bumper love tap. I pulled to the side of the road to talk to the other driver. She was an old, round black woman with silver hair. I could see that she was shaking as she got out of the car. She noticed that I had kids in the van and frantically asked if we were harmed. I gave her a big squishy hug and told her we were just fine. I held her soft hands as I reassured her that it could happen to anybody. Then I explained that I did the exact same thing a few years ago. She kept offering to exchange numbers but there was no need. My van was damaged, but she wasn't responsible for any of it.. (it was broken long before she hit me.) I gave her another hug and she said, "May the good Lord bless you." As I got back into my van and saw my handsome boys, I knew that the good Lord had already blessed me... immensely.

It's amazing how such a terrible experience (3 years ago) could have such a positive affect on me. As soon as I saw this poor shaking woman, I wanted to reach out to her because I will never forget being sworn at when I was at fault. Those squishy hugs I got today healed my heartache inside... sadness that I didn't even know I was carrying around until today. It made me realize that some of the worst experiences serve a purpose in our lives and DO teach us the lessons that we need to learn. I just wish I could have learned the same lesson without having to pay extra on my insurance premiums..

ps. if the lady who hit me had been texting, I would have sued her pants off!!