Sunday, December 7, 2008

A Parent's Worst Nightmare

Our little town had a Christmas festival this weekend. I dropped off my 13-year-old daughter earlier this afternoon, so she could hang out with her friends. My 17-year-old son, Cale, would be going to the festival a little later with two of his buddies.

I went to pick up my daughter and was on the way home when I saw a familiar car embedded in an embankment on the side of the road. I realized it was my son's car when I saw three boys surveying the damage and noticed my son's jacket. I was the second person on the scene; the first was a sheriff's deputy.

Now, to set up the scenario a little, we live in a rural subdivision a few miles outside of town, and all the roads in the area are two-lane and a bit hilly and curvy. Cale and his friends were on their way to the festival when he decided to close the sun roof. As he took his eyes off the road, the car veered into some gravel on the right. Cale over-corrected, crossed lanes and ended up facing 180 degrees around in an embankment on the other side of the road. Thankfully, there were no other cars involved, and Cale and his friends are all fine.

The car was towed to a body shop, and we should have an estimate of the damage in the next couple of days. It is an older car, and though the damage doesn't look extensive, it wouldn't take much for it to be totalled. Either way, it'll be at our expense, as we only carried liability on it.

I've heard those horror stories of parents coming upon an accident to find their own kids seriously injured or worse. I'm so thankful this wasn't one of those scenarios.

I'll get back to Christmas decorating tomorrow, and we'll take a look at some mantels. Until then, we're relishing some family time, watching "Home Alone."

20 comments:

Robin Beck said...

Oh Sandra,
I'm so thrilled to hear your son and his friends are okay. Wow that would be very scary-My son JUST started driving a few months ago.
I'm glad you are all getting a chance to spend some family time together.
Looking forward to the mantels.
Robin~♥

for the love of a house said...

Oh Sandra, Thank goodness Cale and his friends are okay. Talk about the best Christmas present, ever! Enjoy your evening together!
joan

p.s. I love the name Cale! I have never heard it before and it is so cool!

Debra Howard said...

I am so thankful that your son & his friends are ok. I have lived thru a couple of close calls with my children & I know how very traumatic it can be. I will pray for you & your family. I agree with Joan that your sons name is really unique & wonderful.
Debbie

Becca Watson said...

I'm so glad your son and his friends are unharmed! That would be a totally scary situation to come apon! Have fun with the family time!!

Anonymous said...

Happy endings always make me count my blessings. My two teens are now grown with husbands and children, but we still mention the "close calls".
Blessings
Becca Rose

Anonymous said...

I am glad to hear everyone is okay.

Nola said...

How lucky nobody was hurt. Maybe this will serve as a lesson that taking your eyes off the road for even an instant is not a good idea.

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

Gulp. It brings tears to your eyes. Goes without saying, but Thank God, eh? A friend of mine was a reporter for the news and went to an accident scene, only to recognize the car...and to find her only daughter(17) had died in the accident.

It can happen in the blink of an eye. I still hold my breath when my kids are out and I hear an ambulance.

Yes,time to hug the family.

sandra/tx said...

Oh, Linda, that's so sad about your friend. Even though I could see the car had minimal damage, I was still concerned that someone might be injured. So, yes, THANK GOD.

Thanks to all who've commented and to those who like our son's name. I'll have to do a post one day about how we came up with his name. :-)

Anonymous said...

How scary. I'm so glad to hear everyone is alright. I have four boys two drive and two can't wait. I'm always worried when they leave the house and so relieved when everyone returns home safely!

We're having a give-away that started last friday. We are giving away the most adorable Christmas tea towels and some yummy Lavender soap. Check it out. http://mudroom.lookiloos.com/2008/12/guest-bedroom-giveaway.html

Unknown said...

I am glad that no one got hurt! What a scary experience.

Anonymous said...

Oh Sandra! So gald to hear Cale & friends are all okay. I actually did that once, rolled my car, err half rolled it. Not a scratch. Thnak goodness for old cars!

The Rantings of a Drama Queen's Mum said...

I'm glad that your son & his friends are okay.

cotedetexas said...

Thank God they are ok. Just thank God.

Michelle said...

Oh, Holy Cow!! Bless your heart!! I'm glad everyone is OK, including you after the heart failure. Hope the car is fixable...

The Muse said...

I am thrilled beyond words that your children and others were/are fine! Aw, bless your heart.

The Stricklands said...

I am so thankful my very precious nephew is safe and sound. Having raised 2 boys, I can tell you that it is scary being a mom sometimes. Give Cale and Cameron a big, big hug for me - wait, give Cale two!

dec0r8or said...

OMG I was holding my breath for a minute there! Yowsa. I can't imagine how your heart must have been in your throat. (((Sandra)))

Amber Cargile said...

I am so glad C is okay, Sandra. Hopefully this will be a valuable lesson to him...and maybe head off something worse one day.

PS--I worked for a general once whose college-aged son was driving on a 2-lane country road. He sneezed, looked away for a split second, and went into the oncoming lane. He lived, but the passenger in the oncoming car died. It was terrible...the guilt that young man carried. The toll it took on everyone on both sides of the accident.

Alicia said...

Oh, Sandra. I can imagine the fear...

Last year our son Dee was driving home from work and was talking to Mike on his cell. I was in the kitchen busying around and all of a sudden Mike started saying "Dee? Dee?" Lost connection. Mike is the most laid back person in the world and in that moment I could tell by his voice and face that something bad had occurred. What was so terrifying was that in the nmiddle of Dee talking, he started saying "oh no Dad...oh no Dad...over and over and then... nothing. There had been a sudden ice storm that evening and we did not know where he was, or really what happened. That was the absolute worst feeling I've ever had. After about 10 minutes (which seemed like an hour) Dee called back. He was ok--shaken up and only mildly hurt--his car had flipped 4 times end over end and landed in a ditch. NOT wearing a seatbelt. O my gosh. The horror of that night still feels like it was yesterday.

So glad Cale is ok. The thoughts of "what if" stay with you for a long while.