I blame it on the sweettarts

After my recent car accident, I have some little nuggets of wisdom I would like to impart to you, my dear friends along with some general musings and probably a rant or two.  The turkeys and I were in a car accident on Valentine's Day, thanks to some sweet tarts.  We are all fine.  The boys have been talking about it non-stop and it seems every five minutes, they feel the need to remind me that I endangered their lives, "Mommy car crashed.  Mommy's car went bump.  Mommy's car broked."  Thank you, sweet children, as if I already didn't feel enough guilt.  Anyways...

My first piece of wisdom, PAY ATTENTION to the effing road!  Do not allow the sweet tarts (thank you lovely overachieving mom at preschool for that little gift) that your son just spilled ALL over the back of your minivan distract you from your responsibilities as both a mom and a driver.  That little mess now pales in comparison to the mess that is the front end of my car.  And for crying out loud, if you are at a red light and get distracted for a few seconds cleaning up sweet tarts, be sure and look straight ahead before putting the pedal to the metal.  Do not just GO!

If you are in a car accident, do not punch the old man whose car you just hit and first words to you, as you are pulling your children out of your mangled car, were:  "Were you on your phone?"  I did not punch the old man in the throat primarily because I had a couple of shaky toddlers with me and they were my focus.  But after the fact, boy did I want to.  There were a few other words I wanted do say.  Like "If you thought I was stalled, why the eff didn't you honk just to, oh, I don't know, make sure I was stalled."  Or, "why the hell couldn't you just have a little patience."  Or, "Well, you are from Michigan, what did I expect."  Not that I am trying to put the blame completely on him, trust me, I know I was distracted, but damn, this could have all been avoided if he would have just honked the effing horn.

If you are in car accident, or any kind of accident, accept the kindness of strangers graciously.  I got Logan out first and carried him to the corner.  There were a group of landscapers that came running to the immediate area as soon as they heard the crash.  So when I got out of the street, I was trying to figure out what to do with my crying toddler so I could get my other crying toddler out of the car.  This nice mexican landscaper held out his arms and said, "I've got him."  I didn't think twice.  I put Logan in his arms and went back for Hayden.  These same guys allowed me to use their phones to call my mom and David.  I truly believe they were a part of my angel crew that day.  I am so grateful for their assistance.


My next little nugget of wisdom:  make sure you have rental coverage under your car insurance policy.  If I would have had that, then it is doubtful I would be driving around in a 2005 Hyundai Sonata, that is stinky and rattle-y.  I sound ungrateful, but I am really not.  The car I am driving came free of charge from the body shop.  You can't fault free.  However, if I hadn't been so cheap and refused the rental coverage, then it is much more likely that I could have finagled a minivan rental out of them that wasn't stinky or rattle-y.  I tell you what, it is hard getting toddlers in and out of a sedan.  I give major props to you moms that do have these types of vehicles.  My back and neck are definitely feeling the effects or maybe the soreness is from the accident.  That's probably more likely.  The plus side to driving the sonata:  the gas mileage rocks!

While I certainly wish the accident had never occurred, it really hasn't been that bad of an experience overall.  It could have been a much bigger pain in the ass.  State Farm has been great.  Kales Collision Center was clean and had amazing customer service.  They are even throwing in the parking lot dent in my passenger side door.  Now that is awesome.  The only thing that sucks is I will be without my van for one month.  But, at least, I will appreciate it more when it comes home.

And just in case you wondering, I have most definitely learned my lesson.

Love and peace,

~Andrea