6 Across: extensive, widespread

Today has been an interesting day.

One RIFE (lookit- the crossword puzzle word today! Thanks Brittany!) with all sorts of dramatic upheavals, scary moments and tearful incoherencies.

To save myself a complete rehashing of the events that led to my near mental meltdown, let me sum up by saying that Brittany is officially responsible for taking a good two decades off my life. And I have to say, if there is ANYONE who can say that wouldn’t suffer at least the SMALLEST of instability at the hands of a phone call made from the innards of an ambulance… well, then…. I question your sanity more than I question my own.

Yes, I received a phone call from a person who is much too important to me to delve into meaningless phrases. And this phone call was placed from inside an ambulance. Where she somewhat lucidly confirmed that there was blood and breaks on her person. Insert panic attack HERE. And though I know better, I flew down I-40 doing a good 110mph daring the morning rush-hour idiots to even glance in the direction of the interstate lane I had claimed as my own. My horn, never an object to go unused for long, got quite the workout. Not to mention my middle finger and several choice phrases because, in accordance with popular opinion of my driving skills, I have a tendency to over-react when the fast-lane creed is not observed.

Fast forward to ER where I finally ascertain that my friend is free from the immediate danger of impending death and that all of her limbs and whatnot are in their proper places. Not free of injury, mind you, but free of the kind of injury that renders one’s life vastly changed or modified. A couple refills of pain pills, a wheelchair, some crutches and later a cane may be needed in the recovery process but certainly not anything that we can’t handle.

And here we get to the meat of the story: This girl must have SACKfulls of karma lying about because, generally speaking, she walked away from this one. She WALKED AWAY. She kicked open the door of her log-truck sized vehicle with a broken leg and crawled out of the ditch where her vehicle had landed. And after seeing the vehicle, I know that Someone helped my friend out because no girl, much less a grown-ass man, could have kicked open that door without the help of a tow truck or similar mechanical object. In fact, there IS no definable door on that SUV left, so twisted and contorted is the metal surrounding the drivers compartment.

I am so unbelievably grateful that she’s okay. I hope God wasn’t too offended when my steady stream of prayer was interrupted to flip the bird or scream obscenities. I’m sure He understands. I seriously doubt a little F-word is going to offend Him at this point in my life. But I digress. Like I said before, this girl has Somebody looking out for her. This is the fifth wreck in 7 years, all of which totaled the vehicle she was either driving or riding in. And through it all, she’s come out okay. You have to believe in unseen forces and higher powers when you see from what she’s walked away… It’s unreal.

I know my friend has a lot to think about in coming months. The death of a person weighs heavily upon a person’s soul, no matter the person deemed at fault. If this man truly wanted to end his life, I am angry with him for so selfishly attempting to take my friend’s life as well. If this man was intoxicated, I am angry with him for so selfishly driving his car along ANY road—more specifically, the road my friend found herself on at the precise moment he swerved. I pray that his family can find peace. And I pray that my friend doesn’t let this affect her life in a negative way. It’s not your fault and it never will be.


Sidenote: Randomly, of all the phone numbers I couldn’t remember today (my work number, mainly—and thanks to Dillard’s friend for connecting me to my boss) I pulled Brittany’s parent’s home number from the darkest recesses of my mind to call her parents and let them know I was on the way to hospital and to give them my cell number. I’ve called this number maybe 4 times in my life and I didn’t think twice about it… My work number however-- which I rattle off probably 45 times a day-- wasn’t even close to the tip of my tongue. It was way back there with my tonsils and vocal chords. Just goes to show you that Someone is looking out for all of us, even when we’re burning rubber to get to the side of our friend in the midst of a full fledged mental disintegration. He’s also looking out for us when men with unknown motives swerve deliberately into oncoming traffic at 65mph. And he’s looking out for us when we find the strength to pull ourselves out of broken vehicles. And he shows us that even when things look less-than-pleasant, you’ll ALWAYS have friends and family at your side to get you through anything and everything you might face. It doesn’t matter if you’re the one on the ER gurney or the one holding the hand of the friend on the ER gurney. We all need a little help now and then and God help us if the day ever comes when we’re too afraid to accept it.