Monday, April 14, 2008

Close Call

Friday afternoon I pulled into the school parking lot after school to pick up the big kids. As I was easing my way into the congested parking lot (oh, for our new school grounds with a safe pick-up and drop-off zone) I glimpsed a woman loading her own children into her green minivan.

For no reason at all I was overcome with a bad feeling. A very bad feeling that made me feel mean as I watched this woman tossing a backpack into her car.

I don't know this particular mom - she has children who are all in different grades than my own and our paths had never crossed. So I was irritated at myself. Why on earth would I feel so negatively toward this woman? How irrational are my periods going to make me as I creep toward forty?

Moments later, I pulled into my usual spot and waited for the girls to see me. Chloe saw me first, and climbed into the back seat. I noticed that Maddie was still gabbing with her friends, oblivious to me, so I told Chloe to hop back out and go get her sister for me. I was already ticking off the list of things to do to prepare for Saturday's Gala.

Chloe stepped out of the car, took one or two steps, when my whole body jolted and was thrown against my door. I sat there for a moment, confused, until the realization of what happened came to me.

The woman in the green minivan had placed her car in reverse and plowed into my car. Right against the door where Chloe had exited just seconds before. Chloe looked at me through the car window, her eyes big. I rolled down the window and just stared at her.

"Mom, the car is hit."

But Chloe wasn't. She was right there, looking at me. I still couldn't move. Other parents who witnessed the whole thing were beginning to walk over, looking at me with quizzical expressions. I was unaware of this, and later my girlfriend would ask me why I took so long to step out of the car.

I believe it was because I couldn't get over how close of a call it was. The woman who hit me finally came over to my window and said, "Sorry about that; I was wondering when something like this would happen in our parking lot."

I just nodded my head and said, "Better my car than a kid."

30 comments:

The Ferryman said...

Holy crap! Damn lucky...

Carrie @carrieloves said...

Holy moly that was a close call... and maybe that was your intuition hating on that lady before she ever decided to mash into your car. Thank goodness everyone is safe & well.

Anonymous said...

YIKES!!!!!!

Glad everyone is okay.

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

Scary. I'm glad it turned out okay.

dkuroiwa said...

Thank God Maddie was being gabby, huh? You were all so lucky....and maybe this is a starting point at getting that parking lot problem brought to the attention of the "powers that be".
So glad no one was hurt!

Anonymous said...

Wow... that WAS a close call!

Jennifer said...

Oh, wow. Those things can shake me up for days and days. I'm so glad all is well.

Mary Beth said...

WOW! I'm so glad no one was hurt!

Crystal D said...

If that mom only knew how close she came to harming a child. How dare her say she was "wondering when something like this would happen in our parking lot," if she was wondering then maybe she could have been as cautious as others in not hitting other cars.
Thank goodness she only hit your car.

Anonymous said...

Oh my god that would scare the cr*p out of me. Hope all are recovered.

Suburban Correspondent said...

The bad part comes when you try to sleep at night; and, instead of replaying what really happened, your mind treats you instead to what could have happened. Over and over and over...

Liv said...

oh, the suspense. i simultaneously want to hug you, give you a drink, have one myself and choke that bitch. nobody gwine mess with my Jen M.

Sarahviz said...

Ack. Just reading that made my heart beat faster!

Mary Alice said...

Thank God Chloe didn't get hit. I hate school drop off zones. I have never seen one that wasn't an accident waiting to happen. Give her a hug for me and have a martini.

Anonymous said...

Awful, terrible, and everything in between, and thank g*d it was the car and not your child. I don't bounce back quickly, either. As long as you're all o.k.

Anonymous said...

Holy crap I would have kicked her ass! She almost hit your daughter! I would made such a show they could have sold tickets!

Jen said...

It didn't really hit me until later to be angry with her.

Beth Cotell said...

So glad everything turned out o.k.

Anonymous said...

Goodness, I'm glad everyone is ok.

Jan said...

I would have been stunned, too. The important thing, you're all in one piece.

Fantastagirl said...

OMGosh - that was too close - I'm so glad your little one is okay. and you - so scary!

islaygirl said...

eeek. so glad no one was hurt. so, so glad.

Fairly Odd Mother said...

SO glad it all turned out the way it did, but MAN, that is scary.

Jen said...

Hey everyone - thanks for the kind words. I think it's a delayed reaction thing all around. Like some of you said, I am replaying what COULD have happened in my mind. Not a good thing.

Everyone is safe and sound and I need to focus on that.

Life As I Know It said...

Glad everyone is ok. Scary how quickly something can happen.

Chris said...

Wow... my heart stopped while I was reading this. Someone was looking out!

Magpie said...

Damn. How lucky. Glad you're okay.

painted maypole said...

so glad everyone is OK!

Daisy said...

Oh, my goodness! Thank goodness.

insanemommy said...

Way to close for comfort. Lucky no one was hurt!