First Responder

Right before dinner tonight we heard the loudest crash and Mr. Yesteryear Acres took off running at full speed. We live on a road that I often refer to as the Autobahn.  For whatever reason - drivers around here like to fly by our house going 80 mph.  Whenever any one visits us, we always make sure to tell them to never back up down our driveway.  The cars come around the corner like missiles.  We are very very very fortunate that our doggies are well behaved and stay in the back. The front of the house would be positively dangerous.  Not long after we first moved here, I called Mr. Yesteryear Acres at work to tell him we had bodies in our front yard.  He thought I was being melodramatic and asked if it were a deer or something and I said, "No - I am talking HUMAN bodies!"  We had a car that came around our corner and hit the tree head on - and no one survived. Tonight didn't end as badly as when we first moved here but a woman driving around the corner ended up facing the opposite direction, on the opposite side of the street - ON ITS SIDE.  It was a really bad wreck.  Luckily Mr. Yesteryear Acres got there right away and was able to help.  I called 911 and it was a good 10 minutes before the paramedics showed up.  Meanwhile Mr. Yesteryear Acres and my son were helping to ease the pain of the passenger, hold back the suffocating seat belt, calling her family to let them know she was hurt but alive and keeping the car from rolling over.  Once the paramedics got there it took everyone to stabilize the car and haul her out through the back. It looks like she will be okay. Things like that scare me.  I was hit by a drunk driver and will never forget how that feels.  You just never know.  It is yet another reminder to live your days with love. With happiness. With gratefulness. I can't imagine how scared the woman's family was when Mr. Yesteryear Acres called to tell them about the accident. What I do know is - that NOTHING is so important that driving like a maniac is worth it. I have seen people FLY by me (and I am going the speed limit) and I wonder - really is the 10 whole minutes you will save by driving at the speed of sound worth it?  What will you gain in those 10 minutes? More importantly what could you lose?! Or what could you cause someone else to lose? Life is too precious to treat it with disregard and carelessness. Let's slow down.  Let's be thankful for each day we are given. Take time to love your loved ones and be loved by them. Nothing is more important than that.