Hosting an Accident

Tom and I hosted an accident last Saturday night, and it all started out because we decided to stay home and watch Chopped.

    Originally, we’d planned to go out to dinner. But one thing led to another-mainly Tom was tired from traveling all week, it was really cold, and it was really snowing. And well, we kind of like sitting on the couch, eating grilled chicken salads, and watching Chopped. Boring, I know.

    Anyway, there we were, trying to figure out how the chefs were going to make a dessert out of four very strange ingredients, when there was a crash in our front yard.

     We live on a main road that can get pretty icy, so this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. But it was the first time that a SUV ran over our mailbox and crashed into the telephone pole in our front yard. 

      Right away, my husband went out to investigate. Moments later, he sent the two kids who were in the vehicle to me. They were both 17, Juniors in high school, and pretty shaken up. The girl had a bump on her head and was bleeding a little bit, so we called 911. The dispatcher said an ambulance and the police were on their way.

And so it began.

       While my husband stayed outside with a neighbor, trying to warn other drivers about the vehicle, I tried to calm the two kids down. They were cold and shaken up and very worried that their parents were going to be mad that they’d gotten in an accident. Never had I been so glad to have kids in their twenties! Though neither have been in serious accidents, they’d both had minor mishaps at one time or another. Because of that, I was able to tell the kids on my couch that this, too, would pass. That  everything was going to be okay because they were okay.

     Over the next twenty minutes, I welcomed a policeman, two EMTs, and one of the kids’ moms into my living room. I had the curious job of offering water and Cokes since it was our house…and trying to stay out of the way because none of what was happening was really any of my business.

    It turned out the girl was just a little banged up but okay, so the EMTs left. The policeman went back outside to help direct traffic. Another set of parents came, and then the tow truck came, too. More neighbors came out to see what was going on and offer to help.

   Two hours later, everyone was gone and Tom and I were back on the couch, sharing stories and exhausted! However, we also were so glad that we had decided to stay home that night. It was nice to help out a couple of kids and their families for a couple of hours-and to send everyone on their way.

    The next morning, I got on the phone and called both of my kids, excited to tell them all about Saturday night’s excitement. To my surprise, both of them thought it was amusing that I was so calm, cool, and collected. I suppose they had a point. I was notoriously bad in crisis situations when they were small. Both knew, from a very young age, that if  blood was involved, it was always better to go to their dad.  It seems that I’m only good at ‘hosting’ accidents!

   Now, days later, I am still smiling about that idea. I did do okay ‘hosting’ a bunch of strangers at my house. Far better than I would have been if some one had called me on Saturday night to tell me a loved one had been in an accident. But let’s just hope and pray I won’t be ‘hosting’ another accident anytime soon.

Wishing you many blessings!

Shelley