another first

This morning I had my first car accident and it was totally my fault. I was both distracted & impatient, which I'm sure is somewhere on the list of driving don'ts. The girl's Jeep, her brand-new Jeep, lost its rear bumper, and my Jetta's front-right side is munched, the hood slightly dented, and is scratched from end to end. (To be honest, I didn't even look at her car to see what damage had been done) Oh, and I had Adam yank the flailing mirror off. You know, so it wouldn't scratch the car while it flopped around as we drove. And did I mention this happened during rush-hour traffic, on the highway, in front of the high school?

After it happened, Adam immediately asked if I was okay. I, immediately started to cry & hyperventilate. The girl, who had pink, pointy-toed shoes, was only slightly distraught, and thankfully was not hurt. We exchanged information, she headed off to school, & Adam & I headed off to work. Me, still crying & nearly unable to breath. The sound of the plastic fender-well, which was now dislodged, was rubbing against the tire & really not helping the situation.

Once the initial shock wore off & I regained most of my composure, a new set of worries sank in. It was the passenger-side that was hit, so Adam could have been really hurt, or Porter could have tumbled around, or I could have hurt that girl with the pointy-toed shoes. All because I was distracted & impatient. I just wanted to scream at myself ~ HOW COULD YOU BE SUCH AN IDIOT? I was ill knowing that Adam was watching the whole thing unfold & all the HONEY! HONEY! HONEY!s wouldn't stop me from hitting that Jeep. I was ill knowing that I came dangerously close to injuring my husband, and I was ill knowing how close I came to rendering my car undrivable. And then I was really, really grateful that none of those things happened.

I keep seeing flashes of her black Jeep, as it stood basically still and my car slid along it. Flashes of black Jeep, flashes of black Jeep! And I will have a reminder of my stupidity every day, for the next two months ~ how long I have to wait to get into the auto body shop. My crinkled car announcing to the world that I am a bad driver. Oh, the shame of it all.