Everyone Needs an Angel

The week that Carter was in the hospital was a busy week. An emotionally and physically draining week. It took me some time to recover. But it could have been a whole lot worse.

On Thursday (2-16), I had Kyla and Carter in the van heading down to Walgreens to fill Carter's prescription. I had a free code for Redbox, so I pulled in just in front of the kiosk and thought I'd jump out and see if there was anything worth getting. I had been there less than a minute, when I saw out of the corner of my eye my van starting to back out. I snapped my head around in time to see Kyla at the wheel and my mind quickly ran through several scenarios.

1. The van was going to back out into the street (not possible, but still ran through my head first).

2. The van was going to back into the row of cars on the other side of the parking lot (most likely).

3. Kyla was going to be hurt.

4. There was going to be significant damage to two vehicles.

5. Carter was going to be oblivious to the whole thing.

Knowing that in my present state, there was no way I was going to be able to chase after the van, I just stood and watched. And then the miracle happened. Kyla got the car back in drive and started heading back toward me. Quickly, I added a couple more scenarios to the list.

6. The van was going to hit the car parked next to me.

7. The van was going to continue through the parking space and run into the Redbox kiosk.

8. The van was going to continue on into the Walgreens.

9. Carter was going to, again, be oblivious to the whole thing.

As the van headed right back into its parking spot, I managed to get the door open and maneuvered my right leg inside. Kyla by this time was back in her seat, obviously finished with her driving experience. I hit the brake just as the van hit the curb, and subsequently, the yellow post on the sidewalk.

A couple was just pulling into the parking lot and asked if I was okay. Amazingly, everyone was. The bumper in front had a small crack in it (but that my have been from a month or two ago when a lady backed into me at DI in her brand new Lexus), but other than that, there was really no damage.

Kyla was hysterical. We had a long talk about how lucky she was that nothing bad had happened, and I ran through several of the scenarios with her when things could have turned out so badly. Gulping for air between each syllable, she asked, "Are...you...going...to...call...the...police?" I assured her that the police didn't need to get involved, to which she asked, "Are...you...going...to...tell...dad?" I told her I was. She then asked, "Are...you...going...to...tell...people?" I told her I didn't have to tell anyone else if she didn't want me to, but I most definitely had to tell dad.

After a while, she calmed down and gave me permission to share her story with others. Just not the police.

As I drove away (after getting Carter's meds), I couldn't help but feel so grateful that someone was looking out for my KyKy that day. I know that even if she had backed into another car, nothing serious would have happened. But it would have made that stressful week a whole lot worse. And that's why I told her that we are lucky that we have our own angel looking out for our family. Everyone needs an angel looking out for them.


**I needed a picture for this post, so I asked Kyla to pose for me. She told me today she wanted me to do her hair like a cheerleader. A half ponytail with a bow. And she took one look at herself in the mirror and said, "I DO look like a cheerleader!!"