my kid's first car accident was today

[kate]

She's okay.

She's sixteen.

She ran a stop sign about 3/4 of a mile from our house and plowed into the side of a Suburban with our little eggshell of a Toyota. A portion of a second earlier, and she'd have been t-boned by the Suburban, and I would be at the hospital right now.

If a little kid had been crossing on his way to school, our family would be experiencing a whole new version of hell right now.

The car can be fixed, but it might take a month.

She was hysterical for the first couple of hours, then went to school . . . she has said a half a dozen times tonight how sorry she is, and how glad that we're not the kind of parents who get all hostile.

How could I be hostile? She's a cautious driver--the kind you don't want to get behind when you're in a hurry. She took her eyes off the road to wipe some condensation off the windshield and mess with the heater controls so she could see better. And she went through a stop sign she's stopped at almost every day for the past year and a half.

Ah, it's so hard to be a parent sometimes.

[Obieone]

Glad she's okay Kate ... fenders can be mended .. broken hearts and bodies now that's another story! Julie has had her license for a year and a half, Kat about 6 months ... living in a rural area requires many miles on the road - I pray they have an angel sitting on their shoulder at all times http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif !

Obieone http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/cool.gif

[Susan M]

I'm glad she's okay, Kate. What a scare. It was a 16 year-old who blew through a stop sign and t-boned our Explorer resulting in my SCI. "Stuff" can be replaced, people can't, as you well know.

Here's a big hug for you, I'm sure you are still pretty shaky.

Sue

"Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in the ocean." C. Reeve

[1 Fine Spine RN]

Not to make light of this Kate, I am so glad she is ok..but right now on my news they are reporting a 4 year old boy who stole his parents car in the night and drove to a nearby video store. He hit two parked cars, and backed into a police car for good measure. I know I should be appalled but the parents just said..."It is one of those things".

I am so glad that she is ok. You are right, it is hard to be a parent sometimes.

Mary

"The Main thing in life, is keeping the Main thing the main thing...." mainlymary aka 1fine rn

[Wise Young]

kate, so sorry... Ouch. That must be so scary. Wise.

[Sci Mom]

Oh, Kate, this was so hard for me to read. I'm glad she's okay. I can hear the gratitude in your 'voice'...I know that feeling!

I've received the phone call, "Your daughter has been in an accident" FOUR times, and I sincerely hope to never hear those words again.

Give her another hug, from me!
Vicky

____________________________
"God warns us not to love any earthly thing above Himself, and yet He sets in a mother's heart such a fierce passion for her babes that I do not comprehend how He can test us so."
~Geraldine Brooks, "Year of Wonders"

[shelley]

My kids are 20 and 21 and have been driving for several years. I am still on edge whenever they are out in the car. Glad everything is okay.

[Shannon]

Glad everyone is okay.

I have about 9 more years before my daughter starts driving. I'm already worried.

Alive for 34 years
T4/5 complete for 26 years
Mom for 7 years

[kate]

LOL, Shannon! No need to get ahead of yourself, not that any of us can help it. Somebody said that having a child is like suddenly being forced to walk around with your heart outside your body, and there are days when it feels just like that--fraught with danger.

Last night at dinner we were talking about how suddenly things can turn to shit when our younger daughter (14) said something like, "God, just let's none of us like, die or anything, okay?" in her new sophisticated, ironic voice. It's the voice she uses when she wants to say something that might be considered too corny for a person as cool as herself.

We all agreed, okay, good plan, no dying. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Diamond Downs]

. . she has said a half a dozen times tonight how sorry she is, and how glad that we're not the kind of parents who get all hostile.

How could I be hostile?

Little did she know of the enormous relief you must have felt that she and no one else were hurt!

So glad she's ok and hope it's her first and last.

Jewel

[bruce]

Yeah, the poor kid. When the phone rang five minutes after she left that morning it seemed a bit unusual, then she was sobbing on the phone, I realized what had happened. I was trying to ask her "are you alright, is anybody hurt?" but she could hardly answer. I breathed a *huge* sigh of relief when I finally got her to answer.

The woman she hit turned out to be very nice .. she gave her a hug .. our daughter said she was doing ok until she turned and saw the smashed-in front end. That's when she lost it.

So now how long can we go with one car and three drivers? Hmmmm.

[SoulMate]

Kate-
Ijust saw this post! I'm glad your daughter was not hurt. I get freaky just thinking about 'what if' one of mine were to be injured in a car...or worse. Here's a hug for you! ((((((HUG))))))
Better late than never.
SoulMate

We are all faced with a series of great opportunities... Brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.

[professirx]

thank God kate everything is okay, i'm still praying though, to keep the strength to be back to norm