She had quite the itinerary set up for today which included buying new shoes for her 20 month old daughter. She also needed to buy a kickball for a game that their family was invited to play in in several days. Her second stop after the library would be ROSS, any deal is a steal when her babies keep growing as quickly as they have been she thought to herself.
Thinking about which way to go she decided on the most direct route, one that she never drove because of all the side roads and stop signs. As she neared the mall she couldn't help but smile at how adorable both her son and daughter sounded as they giggled at the lyrics. Nearing JC Penny's she prepared herself to move into the left handed turning lane. Checking her blind spot she slowed down and checked the intersection. Her light showed a green arrow to turn left and so she entered the intersection not knowing what was to come next.
In a movie there is always some sort of music to help set the tone for the audience. If the moment is going to get tense of scary the music tends to get eerie and louder. In reality there is no such warning. In her reality all she heard was an accelerating car. It couldn't possibly be the white car in front of me she wondered, not quite realizing that the white Kia was in fact accelerating and not slowing down.
Her heart started beating hard and her breath sucked in as she realized that this day was not going to turn out the way she had hoped. Still accelerating the car screamed towards her. She slammed on her brakes but it was already to late.
A horn blared.
She braced the steering wheel.
And she was hit head on.
The impact was so intense her van was pushed backwards and pushed into a spin.
She saw everything in slow motion as her body fought against the seat belt. A hot searing pain ripped through her right breast and arm pit. Her right wrist let go and hit the steering wheel hard enough to cause immediate purple bruising. Her head bounced off the back of her seat and she could feel her right collar bone and shoulder shift in a painful way.
Feeling the van slow down and finally settle she heard two things. Her screaming turning into sobs as she held her right arm and the sound of her son crying uncontrollably. Horrified at what she saw before her, she was more terrified at what she would find behind her. Feeling true hysteria begin to bubble up inside her she couldn't comprehend why she wasn't hearing her daughter cry as well.
Trying to calm down and be brave for her scared children she slowly turned around. The first thing she saw was something that tugged on her heart in the most special way. Her daughter sat in her car seat completely protected and unharmed smiling up at her. Her three year old son held his arms out to her as he cried for her to hold him. He too was safe and was only crying because of the chaos that was surrounding their vehicle.
"Shhh... mommy is okay. Are you okay? Are you both okay?" she asked still crying. "Mommy loves you so much" she said over and over again.
Doors flew open from both sides as bystanders ran to their aide to make sure no one was severely injured. Sirens sounded in the background. Before her was the small white car completely demolished and ground in between her van somehow. The airbags in the car that hit her had deployed and there was blood running down the other drivers face. The passenger was standing outside yelling the same words over and over again. She saw that they were in their late teens.
"Stupid girls" she thought to herself over and over again as the fire department came and then the police officers took over.
It was over.
What took 20 seconds to complete felt like 10 minutes. What took 3 hours to clean up felt like 20 minutes. Adrenaline is a funny thing... but the most interesting part about this entire situation was the peace and knowledge that it was okay. Even after realizing I had a dead cell phone and no contact numbers to have someone come rescue my children and I, I still felt okay. Yes I was hysterical but as the police officer was explaining to me a lot of it had to do with the adrenaline crash.
As I look back on this accident I can see in hindsight that it was a blessing we had bought the van two months before hand. I also appreciate and adore my children more and more. I am hurt, but nothing was broken or torn but most importantly my children weren't hurt. This accident was horrible and I still have anxiety over it but can appreciate the life lesson that also came from it. I love my family. I love my heavenly father. I am thankful for the blessings that come from paying tithing and I know that families are forever. I also am so very thankful for my Ward family and everything they have done for me and my family to make sure that we are taken care of and okay.
So although this was a very scary and sad thing that happened to us... I truly believe I am coming out of it stronger.
And for that I am grateful.
Love Nichole
