Today, as the title suggests, was not the greatest of all days. It started out well: this week is Homecoming at the high school that one of my elementary schools feeds into, so we are all dressing up each day as part of the celebrations. Today was Nerd Day, and I went all out! See?!
I think I make a pretty good nerd! LOL I started to just dress normally and if kids asked me why I didn't participate today, I was going to answer that I did, I was dressed up as a nerd....but I changed my mind. I was in good spirits, though I was running a tad later than I like. It was very foggy this morning, so I wasn't stressing about getting to work because I knew I didn't need to be hurrying. One of the blessings of my position is knowing I don't have a classroom full of students waiting for me. I do 'hit the ground running' once I get there, but it isn't the exact same kind of pressure.
A couple of cars flashed their bright lights at me when I was going up the road toward my school. That is not too unusual on the curvy road, and I figured that there may be a cop with a radar gun or something that the other drivers were warning about. I passed my brother-in-law's house and soon saw what was going on....a dump truck was sitting sideways in the road, blocking both lanes of traffic. Several cars quickly pulled into driveways on the other side of the road and turned around. I didn't know what to do, because as far as I knew, there was no 'back road' for me to get to work! I saw a co-worker jump out of her car ahead of me, speak to the person in another car ahead of me, and run to the scene. I put on my flashers and went to see who was in the car that the coworker spoke to, and it was our guidance counselor. She said our coworker is a first responder and was seeing if she could help. Soon, she was back....there was nothing she could do to help, because the person who was still in the truck that had collided with the dump truck had no pulse. :(
It didn't hit me right then that someone's life had ended. I quickly drove back to my brother-in-law's house to use his phone and call work to tell them why we were all late, as my cell phone wouldn't get a signal where we were located. He said he'd show me and my coworkers a way that we could get to work, so I hoofed it back up the road to tell them...in my lovely nerd garb!! I wasn't thinking about how lovely I looked at the time, but I'm sure I gave some of the people who saw me pause! HA!
We did get to work within the hour after crossing a one lane gravel road across a ridge. I realized on the way across that ridge that I was gripping my steering wheel with a death grip and was very tense. I stayed shook up all day. I couldn't dial the correct phone number to tell Chris that I was okay in case he heard that there was an accident on the road I travel. I kept messing up and going to the wrong classroom or getting the wrong group of students at the wrong time because I felt like it was so much later in the day than it actually was. I felt shaky and anxious all day. When I realized that I was very anxious and sore from being tense late in the afternoon, I broke down and took a prescription pain reliever for only the second time in over two years. I feel quite a bit better now, but still could cry while typing this.
As I was leaving school, another teacher pointed out a high school student to me. She stood there with tears rolling down her face. Come to find out, her father had just texted her telling her that it was her uncle who had passed away that morning in the accident, and that she needed to ride the bus home. What a way to receive the news....with no one there to comfort her!! So I immediately went and hugged her and said a little prayer in her ear (separation of church and state be damned, I was a HUMAN right then, not a teacher) and told her that I didn't think he had suffered. I told her that I had been praying for her family all day, even though I didn't have names for which to pray. I asked if she needed a way home, and she assured me that she didn't. I left feeling very distraught for her.
Life is so precious, friends. We live a distracted life where we are constantly on the run and in a hurry, and I am just as guilty as anyone of this. I have sped through the curves on that highway many times...more times than I can count. I have felt frustrated when someone was traveling below the speed limit and lamented how I was going to be late. Though I hate that this has happened, I will definitely use it as a reminder of how I need to SLOW DOWN and be present in what I am doing, especially when I am driving. I am carrying precious cargo....my children's mother and my husband's wife, particularly. I don't want to leave them because I was in a hurry or not paying attention to what I was doing. I pray that you will use this reminder to do the same.
May the Lord bless you today!! He is always right on time!!
