Close Call

Today as I was returning from Daughter's I had quite a scare. I was on one of those stretches of highway between Kingman and Wickenburg where the road keeps going from two lane to four lane and  is winding and hilly.. I was approaching a slow car in my lane and started to change into the left lane to pass.

I didn't think any other cars were near me. I was listening to a Kenny Chesney's "Hemingway's Whiskey" and singing along, not really paying attention to my driving. As I started to pull left, I looked to that side and realized another car was right beside me--within inches of the driver's side... I swerved back into the right lane but over corrected and the car tilted and rocked back and forth. The GPS unit went sliding across my dash and I just knew I was going to roll.

Then I felt a gentle nudge. It was a definite uprighting and steadying of the car. I don't know whether there was a car coming behind me that saw my near wreck or not. I sort of don't remember the second or two following the incident.

When I could pull off the road safely, I stopped, got out and looked at the left side of my car to see if there were any scrapes. That's how close I felt I had come. There was nothing to show for this indiscretion except my shaking.

I try hard to be a safe driver, but I have a bad habit of pulling into the left lane and not seeing cars in my blind spot. I've been turning and looking over my shoulder since coming to Arizona because there's so much more traffic here. Today I forgot and just made a sudden lane change thinking I was no where around another car.

I didn't tell Daughter or husband. I don't want them yelling at me. They know I'm a little unstable in my driving skills.  I just don't really want to admit my idiocy.

However I read a blog when I got home about how life can change in a split second. How one moment's action can change a life forever, often tragically. I'm so glad this wasn't such a situation. I honestly am still shaken by this. Not because it ended badly, but just because it could have.

I hope I learned from this and drive more carefully in the future. I truly do attempt to drive safely. I used to get sleepy when I drove down to Las Vegas from Idaho and I'd find myself hitting the rumble strips and waking from a sudden doze off. I try not to drive tired now and I honestly do make every effort to obey the law. I almost always set cruise so I'm not speeding, I am a fanatic about not texting while I drive or not driving distracted. This was just one of those caught-off-guard moments.

One of the comments on the blog I mentioned had cited this quote that someone sent after her husband died: "Faith is believing today in the light that doesn't come until tomorrow."

I need to remember to try my best to appreciate every moment of every day and not take any for granted. I am thankful for being spared from my own careless error. I just shudder to think what might have happened. I hope to be smarter in my choices and more grateful for what I have.

I don't know why I'm blogging about this, but I just felt as though I was being reminded by the blog I read that I was blessed not to have wrecked. It kind of knocked me upside the head and awoke me to life's beauty and how fragile it is. Maybe it will help someone else to not drift into tragedy.