Those Moments Where Your World Stops

I had the scare of my life today and I keep going from being totally fine to freaking out when I think about it. Mackenzie rides in a 15 passenger van to preschool and home everyday. Her bus drivers are very reliable and almost always drop her off by 2:45. I was sitting here waiting for her to get home today and the clock started getting later and later. I glanced up and it said 3:00 and I immediately knew something was wrong.

My heart fell to my feet as I thought about the reasons why the van was not here yet. My first thought was that there had been an accident but I didn't want to think about that so I talked myself into thinking maybe they broke down and were waiting for another van to trade to. But, I knew that they would call if that happened. The clock hit 3:05 and still no Mackenzie. I was starting to panic and knew something was not right.

Just as I was getting ready to call the school, I got a call from the school district. The lady on the phone told me not to panic but that Mackenzie's van had been in an accident and they were waiting for confirmation as to whether or not there were injuries. I immediately went numb and felt like I needed to throw up. Any of you who noticed an accident at 90th and 370 at about 3:00 saw my horror. I rushed down there only to have a rude police officer not want to let me down by the accident because "only parents of the kids were allowed down there". Duh! I had told him already that my little girl was one of the preschoolers in the accident. I was seriously ready to run him over if he didn't move out of my way. I was not in a real rational frame of mind at the time. Jason is flying today so I didn't have him there to help calm me down.

The good news is that Mackenzie is okay except for a few bumps and bruises. She had to go to the ER just to be sure and she was given a clean bill of health. The bus driver was taken to the hospital as was her husband who sits in the back with the kids. Mac loves those two so that really upset her. The accident happened because a mini van ran the red light on 90th and they figured that he was going at least 60 mph when he hit the school van. The school van spun 6 times and ended up on the other side of the intersection facing the opposite way. The mini van was completely totalled and the driver was rushed to the hospital. I later found out that this driver had no insurance and had had his license suspended for past offenses. The school van had the entire front end crushed in to the point where you couldn't tell it had a front. Angels must have been watching over them because had they have been only another 4 or 5 feet out, they would have been broadsided and the sheriff said that he is certain there would have been fatalities.

Why do I let you all know about this.... because today has shown me how quickly your world can go from pretty near perfect to a point where nothing matters but the safety of your child. I know that this experience has been a real eye opener for me. I will be holding all of my kids a little tighter tonight and not be so quick to get aggravated with them when they interrupt something that I am doing.