Thankful

On the way to the dropzone yesterday morning, Dan was in a car accident that has left all of us thanking God. He was on the interstate fifteen miles from the dropzone when a semi changed lanes and ran into the back left part of his car. Dan was in the middle lane and the semi was in the left lane. The semi and Little Red became "stuck" together, so the semi driver hit his brakes. At that point, Dan was sent into a 360-degree spin in front of the semi (!) and then headed toward the center ditch. He crashed directly into a hefty construction sign and his airbags were deployed. It is miraculous that the airbags worked at all, considering they were nearly 20 years old with no service ever having been done on them.

We drove by the scene afterward, and realized that the placement of that construction sign was divine. To the left of the sign was a cement construction median and to the right was open ditch. If he would have hit the cement median, he would have battled the semi. If he would have gone into the open ditch, he would have battled oncoming traffic. God was there. Angels were swarming.

Dan is fine, thankfully. He has a sore knee and a very mildly sore back. Actually, I don't know that his back is sore at all today, but it was just a little bit after the accident. Other than that, no issues. Little Red finished her life by saving her precious Dan. Now she is in the junk yard, which is super sad. She has kept us (but mostly Dan) safe for 378,000+ miles. Dan loved that car. We all loved her. Even the boys keep asking when we can see her again.

Yesterday was a day of processing for all of us. My main thought yesterday was--Dan is ok! Today has been different. Now I'm thinking--I could easily be without a husband! :( I hate that thought. I am just so grateful that he is here with us. Ever since the accident, I have not been able to stay away from him. I want to be next to him at all times. As I made the boys breakfast this morning, I began to cry because he was away from home (ok, this is definitely not a typical thing).

Ironically, one of the cars that stopped to see if Dan was ok right after the accident was a group of guys on their way to the dropzone to make their first skydive. Dan told them, "Getting to the dropzone is the dangerous part!" :)

I love my husband so much! I am so thankful that he is sitting next to me right now.

We are all feeling very thankful, blessed and grateful. Tell your loved ones that you love them every day. Spend time with them. Make them feel special and loved. You never know what the next day will bring!