Back in February, a water main broke on our street and somehow flooded several rooms in our house. It destroyed the laminate flooring that came with the house, which meant we had to dry out most of the floors for several days and then replace the flooring. Instead of dwelling on this awful luck, I decided to look on the bright side, the silver lining if you will. I focused on the fact that we were finally getting new flooring – something we had talked about for years but could never commitment to – and we found out there was some mold growing in our crawl space that we were able to take care of before it made anyone sick.
Now, once again, I’m faced with a situation in which I can choose to dwell on my misfortune or try to find that silver lining in things: on Friday (the start of Memorial Day Weekend) I was in a car accident that has likely left my car totaled. Unfortunately, I was at fault and I know it, though I will only personally accept about 90% of the blame because if the construction worker hadn’t parked his car on the curb where it didn’t belong, none of this would have happened.
Luckily, none of us were traveling very fast. I’d say the lady that hit me was only going about 30 miles per hour or less.
You see, I was trying to turn left onto a side street that meets up to my house when I saw a construction truck parked halfway on the curb and halfway into the street that I was trying to turn onto. I couldn’t tell if the truck was completely blocking the street, so while I was craning my neck to see ahead of the turn to make sure I would fit, I didn’t realize that the oncoming traffic has approached as quickly as it did, and I was essentially T-boned while in the middle of the turn. Then that force pushed me into the back of the construction truck that had been parked on the curb. LUCKILY, none of us where driving that fast; I’d say the lady that hit me was only going about 30 miles per hour or less, but it was an awful mess and I still feel incredibly guilty about it.
I’m totally fine but mostly I’m just grateful that Sebastian wasn’t in the car w hen it happened because the other car hit the door where his carseat sits. We’ll find out soon if my car is repairable or if we’re going to have to be on the hunt for a “new” car. The side airbags deployed and, in my experience, that usually means there’s been enough of an impact to warp the frame of the car so it’s probably totaled.
Anyway, as I’ve said before, I’m a positive person by nature. Here’s the silver lining(s) as I see it now:
–I get a new car. Well, we can’t afford an actual new car right now so it will just have to be new-to-me. But I’ve been wanting a small SUV that will fit all of Sebastian’s gear (stroller, extra diaper bags, toys, etc.) especially for road trips so now might be the time that I get one. It’ll probably be an older model but as long as it’s reliable, that’s fine with me.
–I will be much more cautious on the road. I’m not a reckless driver, but I was in another major accident when I was in my early twenties (I veered off the road and straight into a guardrail traveling about 40 miles per hour and airbags deployed, I passed out for a second, the car was totaled, pretty scary) so I know how bad these things can be. This was a very mild accident in the grand scheme of things but I’m already weary of pulling out into traffic now because my mind is afraid that I won’t make it out in time and I’ll get hit again. So I drive slower and only pull out when it’s ridiculously safe. I guess that’s better than the alternative.
As expected, it’s hard to be excited about the idea of a new car under these circumstances but I can’t let myself get bogged down with stressful thoughts of car payments, increased insurance premiums, etc. or I’ll be miserable. The important thing is that everyone was all right and we live to see another day. I know all too well that cars can be replaced; people can’t. And that’s the silver lining!
