What in Tarnation?!

Life is funny. I've driven a Honda van since 2009 when I was in a car accident on Coulter. I was driving North to the discovery center to grab Grayson from science camp when a guy pulled out in front of me to go south. I slammed on my breaks but was surrounded by other cars so couldn't swerve. He hadn't seen my little green Honda from his big big truck. And while Matalley and I were okay, the Honda was totaled. This summer, we decided it was time to trade in that van as the mileage was over 160k and visits to the body shop were more frequent. The changes in just 7 years (we found a new 2016 in Colorado...one of 3 still available in the US) were awesome...they fixed a glitch with the sliding doors and having to be in parked position, they added Bluetooth...no more phone on speaker to avoid breaking the law in the midst of conversations, the middle seat had a cup holder, usb ports and outlets everywhere and more room in the front seat. If ever I coveted something, that van was surely it. The kids weren't allowed to even bring water into the van for a good 3 months.

To be fair, I spend a good amount of time in the car. Most days afterschool I spend at least 3 hours toting kids from place to place and that doesn't account for morning errands or weekend trips. So having a home away from home that I don't detest is a treat.

Fast forward just 5 months and I was headed North again on Coulter. This time to take Matalley to gymnastics. We were at a stoplight behind 2 other cars and all of a sudden I just saw white and heard a lot of noise. My brain took about 30 seconds longer to catch up to Matalley's brain and she was already screaming before I could figure out what was going on. My ears were ringing from being hit from behind and then hitting the 2 cars in front of us. Plus the air bags deploy and darn it those suckers are loud! Glass was everywhere. And the white was the car in front of us, behind us and the airbags. I kept saying "Matalley we're okay, it's just an accident." But I couldn't get out my door and I couldn't find my phone...it had flown from my purse to the front window shield. It sounded like the car was accelerating so I looked down to see if I had my foot on the break and I did so I quickly shut the car off worried it was about to blow up. The noise was still there so it was coming from the car behind me. I just wanted to get out. Matalley had the presence of mind to unbuckle her seatbelt and grab the phone to hand to me. I climbed out the door and went around to open a door for Matalley. I pulled the door open and Matalley was gone (I panicked) and then she comes from behind the van to give me a hug. Poor girl was crying and scared...those air bags are loud! The guys in front of me were so kind and we all went to the girl behind me that hit me and she was just out of it. I asked her if she had tried to stop and she shrugged her shoulders. Then she tried to back up. My van looked like an accordion. The firetrucks and ambulance arrived right away. We were all walking around. Lola's teacher saw it all happen and pulled over to see if we were okay. I asked her if she could take Matalley to gymnastics (guess I was just trying to keep everything normal...but who sends their daughter to gymnastics of all things...what if she'd had a concussion?). Mrs. Webb was so kind and took Matalley without calling me crazy. I called Matt. The police started asking questions and then I watched as the lady that hit me walk around her car and that's when I thought, "She's drunk."

I know her. We were in the Junior League together. She's a sweet mama but obviously has issues. The sad thing is that another friend texted me to see if we were okay (a LOT of people drive that intersection and Amarillo is a small town) and when I mentioned who hit us and that I thought she was drunk, my friend said, "that doesn't surprise me." I watched as the police officer made her walk the line and touch her nose. She was belligerent and slurring her words. When he told her to put her hands on the car, she lounged on it like she was wearing a cocktail dress and backing up to a piano. He told her to turn around and cuffed her. I didn't think to film it because I was just embarrassed for her.

The floor board wrapped up around the back seat (THANK GOD Grayson and Lola were not sitting back there like they would have been had Grayson's soccer coach not pushed soccer practice back 15 minutes so that I had time to go back and get him) and crushed the rear axel so that the car couldn't even be towed without putting it on trailer wheels.

The accident was November 9. I called her insurance on Friday, November 10 to ask about a rental. They told me it would probably be Tuesday or Wednesday before they could process everything because if she went to jail, it would take a while to post bond and then for them to talk to her. I think I should have just called my insurance to begin with but I didn't. I had faith that it would all turn out all right. I think I was feeling especially blessed that we weren't seriously injured. It could have been SO much worse. I had just finished a bible study on how God NEVER leaves you, even when you are in the muck and what a hopeful feeling that is. And I remember recalling that thought right after the accident. God is with me.

We were in a rental for a month. Traveled to Dallas and other long distances waiting to hear back from insurance. A phone call to them after Thanksgiving resulted in heated discussions about the value of our mostly new mini-van that was rated good, not excellent because there was trash on the floor (there was also broken glass but apparently the trash made it not as valuable) and the representatives would not transfer us to anyone else because "they'll just tell you the same thing." My favorite was when I was chastised for expecting to be taken care of when they were still dealing with Houston flood victims that have it worse than me. In the end, I realize that it is just money and though frustrating, so much better to deal with than funeral expenses or crazy medical bills because  it could have been so much worse.

The kicker is that our Honda van was recalled a week after the accident for a 3rd row seat latch. There is not a fix yet so all Honda 2011-2017 vans are not available for sale from any dealer. Our only easy option was to go with a more expensive Toyota or an equally expensive brand new 2018 Honda (or another vehicle entirely but that is another headache) so we settled on a used Toyota that had less than 10,000 miles and all the bells and whistles our crashed Honda had but cost less than a brand new Honda. So after 18 years of driving a Honda, I opted for Toyota. It's a very nice vehicle...nicer than the one I had and I feel safe. I am still leery of Coulter and check my rear-view mirror more than necessary but thankful that God is with me always.