Close Calls

This week I have had two experiences that could have had traumatic results, but didn't.  I still get a little shaken up when I think about them, but I am relieved that the outcomes of them were as benign as they were.

The first experience happened to me while I was driving to the gym.  It was around 8:30 at night and I was traveling east on 11400th south approaching the intersection at 2700 west.  The light turned green while I was about 30 or 40 yards away and the car waiting at the intersection turned left.  I was going to go straight across the intersection and there was a car behind me.  As I was approaching, I saw a truck traveling north on 27th west.  It was going really fast and I realized as I was entering the intersection that it wasn't stopping at the red light.  The truck not only ran the red light, but it turned at the intersection right in front of me.  I slammed on my breaks (and laid on my horn) while hoping that the vehicle behind me was paying attention.  Thankfully they were and they slowed down and swerved to the right.  My heart was racing and I was terrified because of what just took place.

The thing that made me really mad was seeing the driver of the truck.  I expected to see a bit of shock or a frightened face as the truck passed by me, but instead I saw three teenage girls laughing. They were laughing.  Ha ha.  Yah, really funny you stupid girls.  I don't think that they understood what could have happened.  I was in jeopardy with the truck and with the car behind me.  Someone could have been seriously hurt or even killed because of their actions and they were LAUGHING.

The second close call we had last week happened with Seth.  We were cleaning up dinner.  I had just finished loading the dishwasher, but hadn't put the detergent in, so the door was still open.  Daniel, Seth and I were teasing each other and having a fun time.  Seth playfully pinched my leg and turned around to run away from me, but he ran straight into the dishwasher door (it was open and the bottom rack was still pulled out).  He fell kind of belly-flop style into the dishwasher.  He started to scream and I started to panic when I saw where he landed.  He was on top of the silverware bin.  I had just placed the paring knife in the bin.  It was pointy side up and Seth was on top of it.  I picked Seth up and laid him on the ground to see how far the knife had gone into his stomach.  The knife only went in about 1/4 inch.  The only reason it didn't go in further was because the handle to the silverware bin was just slightly taller than the paring knife and his body weight fell more to the right where the handle was.  If he had been a few inches to the left, that knife would have gone about 3 inches into his little abdomen.

I was really shaken up by this.  I ran through what I would have done and what could have happened all night long.  I am grateful that he wasn't hurt badly and that we didn't have to spend time in the emergency room.

I have thought about these experiences a lot this week.  I have learned that what I have can be changed or taken away in an instant.  We can't always control what happens to us.  We shouldn't take what we have for granted.  I am very grateful for what I have.  I am grateful that the close calls we had were just close calls and not traumatic accidents.  But we were so close.  So very close... and I wasn't laughing.