Once upon a time there was a 16 year old girl who was excited to get her drivers license. Her sister and her went to Lethbridge with their mother on a beautiful summer day and took the drivers test. Her sister did just fine and passed with no issues. This girl, however, almost took her driver instructor out with a left hand turn at a yellow light when she didn't see the oncoming traffic behind a stopped vehicle. Thank goodness her instructor had her own brake or else. Nevertheless, instant fail and this girl had to come back later that week to try again (and she did pass that time). I AM THAT GIRL!
Fast forward 20 years. This same girl, me, went to Okotoks to get her phone fixed (it had so many cracks from being dropped so often that chips of it were coming off of it) and to shop for a Month of groceries. It was a busy day. I had to take Laddy to the vet in Claresholm in the morning as he is loosing weight and hair. Nothing came up in the blood work and we will try deworming and new dog food for now. Mom and Dad came and picked up Selman in Nanton so that it would just be Lizzy and me on our big shopping trip. Walmart went great as I used my baby carrier to carry Lizzy and she was so good the entire time. We got almost $500 worth of groceries there. I then picked up my phone and went to a restaurant to get some Shawarma as I love the stuff and wanted Chris to try it. I wanted to have a little picnic date with him when I picked him up in Claresholm on the way home from shopping. On the way to Costco to get the dog food, I made a left turn. The sun was not directly in my view but still made it hard to see a little of the road and perhaps altered my perspective a little. The light turned yellow and I thought the oncoming traffic was slowing down. I attempted to make the turn. I remember a big truck going past behind me and then a grey car came out from behind him and hit me right on the passenger side by the front wheel. It was quite the hit and was a scary experience! I looked back right away to see if Lizzy was okay and she was thank goodness. A nice gentleman came to my van right away and asked if I was okay which I was except for a tiny scrape on my leg - not sure how I got that. I got out and went around to Lizzy's door and got her out and her door was fine to open. There was a lot of liquid leaking underneath the van and the car that hit me. The man called 911 and the Police and firetruck were there in a just a few minutes with their sirens on. The man in the other car was just sitting in his car (maybe swearing at me - who knows - I never spoke to him but wish I had apologized after the fact). He seemed to be fine and did not need an ambulance (but the insurance company later told me he had been hurt a bit :(. There were 2 ladies that stood with me and Lizzy. One of them was a Nurse and she looked Lizzy over. The man who was such a help put his jacket over Lizzy to keep her warm. Everyone was so kind and helpful except the police man who was a bit harsh at me and when I asked if it was my fault, he said I may get a ticket. The tow truck came to take the vehicles away and the tow truck driver had me empty the van of all my groceries and then I waited on the side of the road for Chris to come and get me. Mom had to go and get him from Claresholm and then Nathan had to take her and Selman home at Nanton and then he was to come and get me. A bit of a drive for them and wait for me. The police officer had asked if I wanted to go anywhere but where would I have gone with all those groceries? At least the weather was ok but it was starting to get dark. Then the Nurse came back (she had gone home to change out of her scrubs into other clothes) and asked if she could help me. What a guardian angel she was to me as it was getting cold as it got dark and I was trying to feed Lizzy and get my emotions under control as the whole thing was finally hitting me (perhaps I was in a bit of a shock before). She offered to take me to High River and we loaded my things up into her SUV and she drove me there while I talked to the Insurance people. She works at the hospital in High River on a medical unit. I am ever so grateful for good Samaritans like her and I pray that I may pay it forward. We met Chris is High River and then I poured out my heart and soul to him on the drive home.
I did not sleep well at all Tuesday night but I have been doing pretty good ever since at not thinking about this incident all the time. However, when I do think of it, I do feel such guilt: mom guilt, guilt for ruining our van and the man's car. I have been thinking of the What ifs. What if it Lizzy had been hurt, what if the vehicle that hit us had been bigger. I feel like a horrible driver and I never want to make a left turn again (which I already have had to do). I pray that this never happens again but I do know that accidents happen and can happen to anyone. I am grateful that we were kept safe last Tuesday and I pray that can be a good driver going forward. I am also grateful for the Lord's tender mercies in my life.
