I was happy to go to work today? Whhaaaa?

Okay, sooooo at the risk of sounding dramatic, I was happy to wake up and go to work today after my near death experience yesterday.

My family and I, like many Americans, were traveling back from a Thanksgiving trip on our busy interstate yesterday. Traffic was stop and go and stop and go, with many accidents and pullovers along the way. I didn’t find this particularly alarming, but stayed alert and diligent in my albeit amazing, but somewhat nervous driving style.

Upon seeing a wreck far ahead, I also see that traffic is slowing pretty quickly. I come to a complete stop about three car lengths behind the car in front of me, the suv behind me does the same thing, then I hear it…….screeching brakes and a massive metallic impact which then launches the vehicle behind me in to my vehicle and projects us forward too many feet for me to give you a specific measurement because I have shoddy depth perception. Seconds later I hear the dreaded screeching of more brakes, and more metallic impact and we are slammed a second time by all three cars behind us at this point.

I do what any God fearing mother would do while having her one year old in the car (we will forget about the husband and brother in laws because at this point it is me and baby, and every other man for their selves) I panic and turn the car back on (Which cut off from impact) I am screaming expletives and about to get the hell out of dodge, when my brother in law B, as I will henceforth call him, yells out “WAIT, we have to call the cops, we have to get a report!” and I am full panic like “I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE ANY MORE, I WANT OUT OF HERE NOOOOWWWWWW!”.

I do pull back over, and these idiots behind me which I am doing my level best to get away from because they caused all this to start with actually pull forward further themselves to be behind me. I am looking behind me in sheer fear thinking what the literal hell is wrong with these people. “GO AWAY, I DON’T WANT YOU BEHIND ME, IF ANYONE GETS HIT AGAIN I DON’T WANT IT TO BE ME!!!!”

You know fight or flight? Well I was in full flight mode, but I wasn’t above fighting someone either because at this point my baby is screaming bloody murder and I can’t pull off to a safe space because Virginia is dumb and despite all the money we pay in taxes our busiest interstate only has 6 and 1/2 inch freaking shoulders and that is all rumble strip.

I feel trapped and vulnerable, but you know I am a survivor so I calm my flight instinct in lieu of reason which is give me my phone I am calling 9-1-1. It takes them a month of sundays to get to us because they were handling other accidents which some were actually worse and I prayed for those people, all the while praying for us at this point. We did receive help, traffic did move over and thankfully didn’t scare me more than it needed to at this point, and after like a solid 45 minutes my daughter fell asleep and the screaming ceased. The car was driveable (I am getting the red squiggly line under this word so assuming it’s not a real word, but I like it and I am using it) and we were at no fault. We gave our statements, got our reports and were on our way home.

My takeaways from this experience were this: This could’ve been worse and I am so grateful that my sweet baby was not hurt (my husband too, I do actually love him), I really for the love of EVERYTHING holy wish people would learn to drive, stay out of the passing lane, do not follow too closely, and PAY ATTENTION, and lastly, this is EXACTLY why I drive in the middle of the night for trips. I will not make that exception again no matter how ready I am to be home.

Stay safe guys so you can continue to read my nonsense and tell me nice things! 😉