True Story

 

I have a calendar, it is ever-evolving; marked with up-coming events, milestones and deadlines, dates to remember, changed plans scribbled out and re written. A fair amount of my headspace is taken up with planning the day-to-day lives of myself and my family. From the mundane grind of domestic duties to the activities and events that ignite, excite and challenge us all. There is nothing remarkable about this and I am probably living in a similar way to billions of other people world-wide. I guess, within this ‘normality’ it is typical to become complacent about the certainty of things going to plan, otherwise one could go mad with worry about the ‘what if’ factor. But in reality, none of us really know what is going to happen next.

 

Yesterday, my husband was involved in a serious car accident. When I arrived at the scene the police officer told me in earnest how astounded he was that no one had been killed. Less than five kilometres from home on a familiar road, just on dusk my husband rounded a corner and was faced with a car, sideways, out of control and directly in front of him on his side of the road. Travelling at 100 kilometres per hour, he swerved to miss it but it still clipped the trailer he was towing. The other car, a little hatchback, ended up head-first in to an embankment, the front half of it completely mangled. The two young girls in the car were miraculously unharmed though I shuddered at what might have been when I saw the empty baby seat that had become dislodged in the crash. For the next 100 metres he fought to keep his ute under control, managing to stay between trees on one side of the road and the embankment on the other, with the trailer bouncing wildly and pulling the car all over the road. Some very skilled driving allowed him to avoid wrapping himself around a tree. His car was written off by the sheer force of being held on the road against the inertia caused by the impact, the back axle snapped in two, the trailer bent up like an aluminium can.

 

In the grand scheme of life on earth, there is nothing remarkable about this event either really. Near misses, seeming miracles and tragedies happen all over the world every day on every rung of the scale. However, a close call such as this does give rise to some analysis and questioning that might not have taken place had things gone according to plan… Why did this event not end in tragedy when it so easily could have? Was it fate that the threads of these lives would continue to weave their way through existence for a while longer yet? Was it karma, or the will of some higher power? Was there someone in another dimension watching over offering guidance and protection? Or was it simply a chain of events, chance and the choices the individuals involved made in the crucial split seconds of crisis that determined the outcome. I suppose none of us will ever really know this either, not in this lifetime.

 

This is the truth though; no matter what you believe, life as-you-know-it could change at any moment. There is no certainty at all that my life, or any of our lives for that matter, should continue beyond the next 5 minutes.  This may sound morbid, I definitely don’t want to live life in fear of it ending, but maybe a healthy dose of appreciation for all the things that you would be sad to lose or leave behind, is a good way to keep things in perspective.  What am I taking for granted? Are there things that I am wasting my precious, fragile, finite time on that are not important? What really matters to me, at the very core of my being? If I only had one more day and not another of my lifetimes to live, what would I sit and wish I had done differently and how can I incorporate those things into my life, now.

 

 

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

I'm glad your husband is okay and no-one was killed in the car accident. You are right. We are walking on thin ice. We must appreciate every day with the people we love. A dangerous world. Thank you my friend for sharing the story.
Coyote

[danielle.]

And thank you for reading

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome Elle.

[.]

If this is a true story, 'Elle, then I think you should be counting your blessings that only the car failed to escape the carnage.

Events like these happen all the time. We just never expect them to happen to US. And when they do we are shocked to the core and find ourselves questioning life and the way in which we live it. The moral you conclude the story with is ultimately the one we all tend to reach at such times. And we do evaluate our lives. Until the normality takes sway again and then we just keep on living as we did before. Drastic change is always available but never always possible. All we can do is not sweat the small stuff on things of no relevance and try and be happy with those we love. For they are all that matter in the end.

A well written parable, 'Elle. If its completely true, then I hope all is well on your end.

[danielle.]

Everything I write is true... I’m actually not creative enough to make things up! Right, don’t sweat the small stuff is exactly right, it’s the easiest thing to get caught up in. Thanks for reading

[barleygirl]

This is beautifully written! The account of the accident is so clear & easy to follow, never being bogged down despite ample details shared (picturing the whole thing). You mix up long complex sentences with short ones to keep the reading varied & compelling. Your reflections at the end are refreshingly lacking a preachy tone, honoring all points of view, yet advancing your own personal lesson with a light pitch of pleading to your reader. All in all, well balanced & convincing (((HUGS))) Fondly Margie

[danielle.]

Thanks Margie... I would actually hate to sound preachy, please tell me if I ever do!!