Almost Accident.

I know, its been a while. But hey, silence yourself and be happy I’m writing now.

So, today I was driving home from work. I have a pretty tough commute to/from work due to traffic, bridges, bad drivers. I don’t drive into the office very often, so I’m not used to driving the freeway these days, so I’m pretty careful in general. I also have a new car (helloo Foxy Lady) so I’m much more careful and pay more attention than I would have in the past.

As some of you know, I have purchased a new “ride”. Her name is Blue Belle. She is a goregous blue electra cruiser, 21 gears, and all the bells and whistles that one would want need, such as: safety lights (so people can see me when I don’t see them), a basket (for my purse, shoes, and road soda), and soon, very soon, a fancy bell that I can ring so that others will get the hell out of my way as I’m coming down the street (I’m still a little unbalanced)… 😉

Ok. so back to the Almost Accident today. I don’t get on the freeway that often so I was being extra careful. There has been a lot of construction at my freeway exit so I’ve avoided it for months now. A friend told me this weekend that it is now open, so tonight, I decided to try it out and take it home. Big mistake (or was it??).

The exit has changed substantially. The most important change is that there is now a stop sign about 100 feet past the freeway exit. Maybe this is fine at other times, but at rush hour, not so good. The cars were stopped about a 1/2 mile before the exit in the right farmost lane. I had to slam on my breaks unexpectedly – and thank god Foxy Lady (my goregous silver station wagon) stopped in her tracks. But as you all know, just because you avoided the accident, doesn’t mean you dont think about the “what if”…

I keep thinking about the Almost Accident, its been playing back in my head in slow motion. My heart has finally stopped beating at a rapid, heart attack pace, but my mind will not let it go. It reminds me, in a very in-your-face kind of way, that anything can happen at anytime, and have I done/am I doing everything I want to? Because in the end, life is short… and much shorter than I think we all realize.

So what if something had happened? Who would have cared? Who is listed on my emergency cards now?!?? How would people find out… Is it because I wouldn’t show up at the appropriate time (cocktail hour, running appt, missed flight… ). How would my family find out – none of my friends have my family contact info… Its crazy to think about this, but it is what it is.

Anyway, it just reminds me that life is very short and to appreciate every moment that I have that I’m not “close to death” (but in reality, are we always close to death, its just moments like these that we open our minds to actually realize it?). AND that I desperately need to update my emergency contacts with people I actually want to see (and that are willing to come see me when I’m all smashed up) as well as my financial account beneficiaries – make sure all my IOU’s go to the right place.. 😉

Yes, I am an organ donor, so if any of you are alerted to my demise, please pass along any organs (I would recommend you NOT pass on my liver…)..

I think thats it. Almost Accidents give us time to reflect on what didn’t happen (death, destruction, dismemberment and the like), and how lucky we are to be alive. So get out there and live it and stop stressing about demo’s, sales, dead mice, etc…. Yes, friends, I would like you to send me a link to this post when I tell you how stressed I am.