Monday, June 29, 2009

It could all change in a second.

I was going to post the 'Girls Room Redo' after shots today, but something happened last night on the way home from my BIL & SIL's house that just won't leave my mind. We saw a motorcycle wreck on the way home. It was incredibly disturbing and served to remind me just how fleeting life is. Makes a little paint and a new bed seem inconsequential.

It happened right in front of us. One second the guy was on his bike and the next his bike was skidding across highway one way and his body was rolling and tumbling across the highway the other.

It is absolutely, miraculously, amazing the guy is still alive after that and that skidding bike did not cause more accidents (it missed other cars by inches) and that the guy did not get run over. That was a near miss too.

He did manage to get up after the accident, probably more reaction than intentional decision being that he was lying on the highway. But he must have scrapes and bruises and possibly a broken bone or two. He was wearing a helmet which undoubtedly saved his life, but he was also wearing a T and shorts so he'll be picking I-20 out of his skin for some time.

It just reiterated to me how much I HATE street bikes!

The thing is, it was so quick. One minute we're driving down the highway, happy and tired from our day hanging out with family and the next a man almost lost his life.

His motorcycle skidded all the way across 4 lanes of a busy highway narrowly missing other cars. It was going so fast, like a missile. It missed the car in front of us by inches. We had to drive all the way over the shoulder onto the grass of the median to get around the bike. It occurred to me that had we been going slightly faster or left a few seconds earlier, that bike could have crashed right through the windows of my car and killed my entire family.

Those are the kinds of thoughts that will mess with your head. But it could have been. So easily.

Life is so fleeting. It can all end in a second. We get so complacent living our lives and thinking it will all be the same forever. Teenagers will always roll their eyes and push the envelope, little girls will always mess up their rooms, the laundry will never be done, the government will always screw things up, the energy bill will perpetually increase and not in proportion to our income. But in one second, all those things could be gone.

It changes your perspective.

3 comments:

Kristenph said...

Seeing something like that does put life into perspective doesn't it? So much of what we spend our time doing and worrying about is vanity. Since you're already in a pensive mood, now would be a good time to read Ecclesiastes :)

www.homeschoolblogger.com/kristenph

Jennifer said...

Tricia,
Several years ago on the way home from church, our family witnessed a horrible car wreck where a young man.. on his 18th birthday was killed. He was a car ahead of us, we just missed going through the signal... I was tired and had been thinking, "man, now we have to sit here through another light".... then it happened, a car cross over the median (we were making a left) and slammed head on, into that car..that young man laid on the pavement... he died several hours later... his friend walked away stunned and confused... it really does put life in perspective. And makes youthankful for every minute. I will pray for protection and peace for your family.. you will be unsettled for bit..(if your like me)
Jennifer
(from the crew)

Unknown said...

I hate moments like that. And yes, they mess with me for days and weeks, sometimes. I've always been 'more mindful' of those things than most people. As a small child, I would have panic attacks over thinking about people around me dying. It was awful. Last week I had my first panick attack in over 20 years because of this very subject. It's definitely been one of those weeks to make you 'think'.
sara o'
at
http://homeschoolproject.blogspot.com