The Details

This may end up being a bit long.  We'll see.  I want to type out more details about the accident I was in the other day with my kids.  mostly to just have the record of it.  I think I'm alright doing it now though, lol.  

Here is a lovely visual for your all to see where things were and what directions things were going and such.  So, my van is facing east, and the other guy is going north.  He is on a road that is 5 lanes wide (2 lanes each direction with a middle/turn/suicide lane, whatever you want to call it).  The speed limit on that road is 50 MPH.  

Alright, now that you have a visual and an understanding how the road is and the set up of things ... here is the story.

I had just picked Kate up from preschool.  I was on my way to our friends house to pick something up from her.  I was stopped at the above pictured stop sign.  :)  I looked both ways, and saw that traffic was far enough off that I thought I could make it.  I drove across the 5 lanes.  My next memory feels like I was waking up (maybe I blacked out?  I don't know), and there was a stop sign (the one across the street in my lovely drawing), I was turning the wheel away from it, and breaking.  I stopped.  The realization came to me, I'd been hit.  I looked over towards the passenger side to see my kids, and there were air bags out along the entire side of my car.  All 5 of my kids were crying.  Usually stress and annoyance comes when all 5 of my kids are crying (honestly, I don't know if that's happened on a normal day in our house or on a normal car trip ... yet).  However, on Thursday, when I looked back and saw all 5 of my babies screaming from fear, and no blood, and everyone aware, I was SO relieved.  

I was flustered and a bit disoriented.  I got out of the car, and realized that it was all true.  I started pulling my kids from the car.  I wonderful women, a stranger who saw the accident happen stopped.  She was taking her daughter to surgery.  She still stopped.  She took each of my kids, one by one, and put them in her car.  You see, none of my boys had socks or shoes on.  Quick trip to pick up Kate from preschool, and then to our friends to grab what we needed, then home.  I hadn't felt well that morning, and we were going to have a chill day at home.  Yeah ... so none of my boys had jackets, socks or shoes.  This wonderful women found room in her car for ALL of my kids.  

**A little off the story for a moment.  Remember that sentence up there where I said that I remembered crossing, then remembered being at the stop sign?  Well, I asked Will what happened (I had heard from the man I crashed with what happened, but wondered what Will would say.  He was accurate with what I was told).  He said that I started crossing, and I didn't see the car, and then I did, and I turned the wheel but we'd already been hit, and then our van crashed the car again, and that's when the air bags came out.  Which is true, I guess he hit the front of the car, and then that caused the van to ricochet and hit his can again -- which is why I have 2 big ol' dents, but only one other car was involved (thank goodness!!!).**

The Ambulance showed up, the fire truck showed up, 3 police cars .... it was crazy.  Will was complaining about sholder pain, so the EMT checked him out.  He has a bruise now, but initially he just had a super red shoulder.  I think it was like "shirt burn" if you will.  He probably just got knocked around a bit or something.  They decided he was fine and didn't need transport.  He got a bear from the EMT he named Snugglie and is pretty attached to him.  It's kind of cute.  Kate and Jack got small blankets b/c they were freezing once Dale got there and both wanted him to hold him.  

I called Dale.  We were in Provo, and close enough he could come help.  My friend whom I was off to see was on her way to pick her daughter up from preschool when she drove down the road and saw us.  She called her husband and asked him to pick up their daughter (huge thanks to him for helping out with that).  Dale and Katharine took the kids up to her house so they could settle down, get warm, and I could do what I needed to do as far as paperwork and all that jazz.  Once everyone was up at Katharine's, Dale got things settled with the car (the accident happened right by a collision repair place, so we just had them take the car) getting towed (ish ... metal had gotten flattened against the tire, so they had to make-shift tow it), and that.  I filled out all the paper work.  

Then we were off to Katharine's where I got to start the ordeal of calling insurance and all that exciting stuff.

We have no idea what's happening with the van yet.  They said by the end of the day they'll know.  It might be totaled.  If it is, that's fine.  We'll find a new van asap and get things going.  We have a rental and it's working well enough (lol).  

I feel extremely lucky to have walked away and to have the other driver safe, and to have all 5 of my kids be fine.  I am confident that we were being watched over, and I feel that we were not alone in our car when the crash happened.  I don't know if I'll ever remember the impact,but honestly, I'm glad I don't.  Sometimes I think I remember the sounds of the accident, but even then I'm not positive.  I am so so so grateful for my kids, and that they are all with me, and home, and happy and just living life like we usually do.  I am so blessed to have them all safe.  I'm so glad that I don't have to be in a hospital today with any of them, or myself.