I’m reading RUN by Anne Patchett. The inciting incident of the story is when a guy’s biological mother—who he has no idea has been keeping tabs on him ever since he was adopted—happens to be close enough to shove him from getting hit by an SUV. She gets banged up instead, and so the drama begins.
With the vivid portrayal of the accident and emotion, you find yourself imagining that moment of watching a car come at someone. Yeah, you’re pretty certain the ONLY way you’d come NEAR that catastrophe as it happened is if that person about to get hit was someone you loved. And even then you have that sliver of doubt about whether or not you’d really forget yourself to save ANYONE.
Well whaddya know…
Yesterday I was walking back to our car after shopping when a woman pulled her SUV out of the parking lot towards me, but with her head turned the OTHER way. I ran, pushing the cart carrying my kids farther out of the way, but when the car kept coming I realized I forgot to give myself time to get out. I screamed, NO! and pulled my hips sideways just in time to dodge the bleepity-bleep-bleep woman’s headlights plowing by me. By that time we were face to face at her window and she just dropped her jaw and, yes, drove on.
First, my angry thought: Do you have any idea what you almost did to me?
Second, my terrified thought: Did I have any idea what she almost did to me?
I sobbed the entire ten minutes driving home.
I would have cried the rest of the afternoon if my husband hadn’t called as soon as I pulled into the garage. Telling the story helped relieve the shock. But even replaying it now has me shaking again. Nah, I wouldn’t have died or anything, but I would have hit that asphalt hard. No question a head injury and emergency room visit would have come from it. Sigh. Anyway.
What really amazed me was how the impact of a one second event shook me up entirely. I couldn’t control the sickness in my stomach and stress. How something so fast scared me so badly. Naturally, I’ve analyzed the moment about 125,000 times. And aside from coming out okay, I’ve been rewarded w/ one comforting thought:
That, yes, at oncoming danger I only saw my children.
Wow! Talk about a Mom's worst nightmare! It's quite amazing what we learn about ourselves during moments of acute stress. It all happens so fast, but we end up reliving it a long time afterwards. I hope it affected the driver in some way, too and that she looks more carefully!
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