Fender-bender

Before I get to our exciting car ride... We did play a rousing game of Taboo on Saturday night. Of course, none of the guys were interested in playing so all the girls enjoyed the game, especially towards the end when we were all getting a little too involved--yes, there was indeed lots of giggling!

We also had the opportunity to visit Mike's church on Sunday morning, which was cool. Even though the power went out about halfway through the sermon, the pastor preached on. I enjoyed listening in the dark and trying to keep my focus despite distractions.

On to the accident... Yes, we are fine and yes, the car is mostly fine. Here is the scenario: I was driving and traffic was pretty unpredictable (stop-go a lot). At a point where we were going about 50 mph I decided to move from the fast lane (I have since learned this is referred to as lane 1) to the next lane to the right (lane 2). I put my blinker on, checked lane 2 and lane 3 for on-coming cars and began moving over. Once I was about 3/4 of the way into the lane a large black pick-up truck sped into my lane, swerving into our front right bumper and hitting just above the front right wheel.

The kid driving (yes, I'm guessing he was a teenager--and he was talking on a cell phone) noticed that he hit us because he turned around with a surprised look on his face. He then sped off to the right, swerving in and out of traffic. So, it was a hit and run. Meanwhile, Happy awoke from his little nap to me braking as I attempted to get out of the kid's way. He wasn't entirely with it when he woke up though because he didn't realize that we'd gotten hit. He woke up because I braked so quickly. Once the kid sped off I realized that we should get his license plate number at least and thankfully rush-hour traffic helped us to do that. We actually were behind him for a while again and got the license plane number along with the make and model of the pick-up. Unfortunately, we didn't think to call the police or AAA when the accident happened, which hopefully won't make things more complicated than they already are.

We arrived at the Gilmore house not yet having seen the damage done to the car. Once we saw that the bumper had been cracked and the spot above the wheel was dented, we took pictures. Happy called AAA at that point and told us where we could get our car fixed, along with other information. They need to find the kid and see if his car has marks on it, if he's insured, etc.

The dilemma now is figuring out how I'll get to work when the car is in the shop. I'm told that one woman lives in Huntington Beach so I could take the bus and meet her and then take the bus home. The only problem: her hours are 6:30-4:00, which means I'd be there REAL early and would need to find someone to cover the phones from 4-5 pm. We're thinking in the future of changing our AAA to cover a rental car if our car is in the shop :-)

Anyway, there's the drama of the car accident. Neither of us are hurt at all and it was only minor damage. I wasn't scared or shook up after he hit us either, so I just kept driving to Santa Clarita. Actually, my first reaction was something along the lines of "That jerk just hit us... and he's not stopping!" So, I'm thankful there wasn't a larger accident and thankful that the car is still running just fine. It was also a reminder that no matter how careful I am, there are still others out there who just aren't as careful. Then again, no matter how careful I am, the Lord is always in control. If He wants to take me home, He will do it when and how He sees fit. I'm sure this whole ordeal will prove educational, if nothing else, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Lord has something else in mind!