Bummer

So..... ummm...... Vallin...... is...... ummm..... looking..... different these days.


I would officially like to recall the last blog post. Don't read it. I was kidding. Rambling really. Just entertaining myself.

I'm sending Jenni the check for getting my car fixed.

But my God is SOOO good.

Let me tell you how good.

I was driving down the road to help paint the nursery with Mom, watch the kids for Mike and Mindy, and get Dad's birthday present that I, like a good and loving daughter, waited to get until the day before his birthday to get.


Mom had left 15 to 20 minutes before me. We decided not to ride together so that we could have more freedom to carry kids around, go shopping, etc. And because I love to drive my beautiful car. Everywhere. Even if gas prices make me wish we still did the whole horse and buggy thing.


I stopped at McDonald's to get my current addiction, a large carmel frappe. With whipped cream and carmel syrup squishing out the top. And started down the road.

It's amazing what you think about just before an accident..... and what you block afterwards.

I remember looking down to grab my frappe.



I don't look down to grab drinks normally. I do it by feel. Maybe I didn't want sticky fingers from the whipped cream. Maybe I missed the cup and had to look were it was. Maybe I just looked.


All I know is when I looked up, I wasn't on the road anymore. I was in gravel and slightly sliding down a muddy ditch.


I freaked out and over corrected, swerved over, almost into the other lane, and sharply turned again.


The next thing I knew I was heading back into the ditch and looking straight at a telephone pole. Staring it down, eye to eye. Strong will to strong will. Like a bullfighter and a bull. But I forgot my red muleta (the cape thing). The pole won. Kinda. Okay so maybe we came out even.

You know how in the old computer racing games where the graphics aren't that good and you run into something and it gets kinda pixelated, then suddenly just disappears. That's what it felt like. There one minute, gone the next.

The next thing I was staring down was a wire fence. I remember thinking, "Don't hit the fence" and turning the wheel to not run into it. Why hitting the fence would make any difference now.... well, I guess I just didn't want to get scratches on my car.

About this time, my mind decided that screaming would greatly improve my reaction skills. I might be able to make good money in Hollywood with that scream. It's pretty good, if I do say so myself. Someone from a house across the road came over because he "heard" the accident. I think he heard me screaming. I was horse for 3 hours and am still recovering from a sore throat.

The first person I called, while I was still screaming, was mom. She didn't answer. Here's were God was working overtime. Mom was away from her phone setting up to paint. If she would have answered she might have been in an accident herself. I wasn't necessarily calm enough that I could tell her I wasn't hurt at that point. By the time I got a hold dad, I had become a bit more calm or at least I had stopped screaming.


The funny thing, I was about half way between Dad in Fort Collins and Mom in Loveland.

So with both parents on the way, I rolled down the window to tell the 10 people that stopped that I was okay. Yes, my windows and radio were still working.


As far as I know there were no direct eye witnesses. Maybe one person was a bit off and saw it from afar. Which is a good thing. If there were people close to me, I might not have been the only one involved. People reacting to my reactions wouldn't have lead down a good path.


One of the people who stopped was an off duty firefighter. He told me to get out of the car in case my air bags had a delayed reaction. I didn't feel any pain, anywhere. I was just super shaky.

I stepped out of the car and looked and the "dent" in the front of Vallin. One of the ladies who stopped said that I was "one fortunate girl." I said "No, I just had Someone looking over me. Thank you, God."


Soon the police man was there and told us that we needed to move away from the car because of the power line. It's the first time I actually looked what I hit.

This wasn't just a cracked and leaning pole. I went all the way through it, it went over my car and landed about 20 feet from it's base. I don't mess around. If you're gonna crash, then crash good.



When I got the police cruiser, I was told to sit in the back while we waited for the power crew to get there.

Dad could never get arrested. He'd never fit. If you are claustrophobic, don't do anything against the law.

The police man gave me something to fill out, basically asking things like my date of birth, name, age, address. Surprisingly I actually remembered my name. Not only that but my handwriting actually was legible.


Before that was finished, Dad showed up. But..... I had closed my door and was, um, in a police car.... think about it a minute. A police car....... in the back.

I was stuck. Do you know what it's like to see your daddy and not be able to get him? There might be some small claw marks in the back of the vehicle now.


As soon as the door was open, I lost all control over my emotions. I cracked as easily as the telephone pole. I'm not a crier. I hold it all in most of the time.

But you better believe I was crying then.

The next part is kind of a blur, because I just put it all in my daddy's hands. I love my daddy. He took over for me. He's so good to have in that type of situation. He's amazing.


Pretty soon, my mommy showed up.......And then parked across the road.

Man, two withholdings of parents???? It was too much for my little brain. I think I lost it more when my mommy hugged me and was crying too.


We weren't allowed down by my car because of the danger of the high voltage. Soon the tow company was there and I pretty much done there.


I didn't drive all day. And I still haven't driven down that road by myself.


By the marks on the road, you would have thought I was choosing which pole to hit.




When we visited my baby on Sunday, we found more of God's amazing protection.


Apparently the pole bounced of the side of my windshield. A couple of inches different and it could have come through the window or crushed the top of my car. There was wood embedded in the seal around the windshield.

I just had this exact side fixed from keying.....

Interesting facts:

* I hit the pole with the speed limit sign on it.

* If I would have hit one pole before or one pole after the one I hit, I probably wouldn't be walking away with just a sore throat and a sore shoulder and neck.

* There is mud in almost every crevice of Vallin.

* Vallin's hood still opens.

* He still beeps when you lock him.

* I could have easily rolled my car.

* My airbags didn't deploy.

* I already had a rule against talking on the phone in the car.

* I was wearing sunglasses that no one- firefighters or policeman -asked me to take off to look at my eyes.

* I was never examined- just asked if I was okay.

* I was so discombobulated that I didn't even get a chance to let it sink in that there were firefighters there. In a fire truck. I can't even recall if they had sirens on.

After giving God all the glory for saving me- I would like to nominate Vallin for Hero of the Year Award. He's a superhero in disguise. Thank you, Honda peoples, for making him safe.

We still don't know if the car is totalled or not. But whatever happens, I know that God's has something special for me to learn in all of this. His will might not be what I would have chosen, but I wouldn't trade this experience. I've already learned things and know that I will continue learning.

To every driver out there- I don't care how old or experienced you are, don't take chances. Watch the road. Please.

Still in one piece,

Ti-Ti