Today we were going to get Sasha's ears pierced. This is something we promised her she could do before Maya was born, to symbolise how very grown-up she would be as a big sister. We had the earrings picked out, and we chose after school today as our best time, because she'd have several days to let the piercings heal before going back to school. At the last minute, though, she decided it was a little too scary, and backed out.
This was supposed to be the biggest thing to happen today, but it wasn't.
On our way back from the failed rite of passage, though, we got into a car accident. Everyone is fine, and even the car seems to be hardly damaged. (The guy who hit us wasn't so lucky - he seemed OK, but his hood was crumpled up like tissue paper.)
Here's what happened: We were about to go through an intersection with a green light when the car in front of us stopped dead and an ambulance whizzed through the red light from the other street. This ambulance flipped its lights and sirens on about ten feet before it entered the intersection, and didn't even pause to make sure the way was clear.
Matt was able to stop short and turn the wheel so we didn't hit the car in front of us, but the guy behind us wasn't so lucky and couldn't stop before he rear-ended us. We heard the BOOM and then "Sasha!" Matt cried out, and "Maya!" I cried out, and we both flew out of the car to check on the kids. I took the baby carrier out - Maya was still asleep, and I couldn't wake her up. I took her out of the seat and let her get a little cold, and after a verrrrrrry long few minutes, she got cold enough to wake up and cry. (She seems totally fine, now.)
Sasha was afraid, but only cried for a minute or two, and hugs and reassurances were enough to settle her down, plus a scarf and oversized knitted gloves from a friendly woman named Lisa who was with the fire department and had seen the whole thing.
The man who hit us felt terrible - when you see the people you just hit haul a preschooler and a weeks-old infant from the car, that's got to be hard on you - but honestly it wasn't even his fault, it was that damn ambulance.
Still, even though we luckily escaped with minimal damage to my car and no apparent injuries, I have a feeling I'm going to be out of sorts for a few days. I suppose it's only natural.
So! Does anyone know how bad an accident needs to be for you to need to get new car seats?
Please, please, won't somebody buy me this?
There's just an incredible amount going on, and I keep feeling like I need to write some of it down because it's gone in the blink of an eye and I know I'll forget. But life has this funny way of marching on no matter what you'd planned on doing, and so these million tiny, precious things stay locked in my head, imperfectly preserved. Things like...
So much to remember, so much to forget, and I know some things are gone already. But that's how these things go, isn't it?
My kitchen is: Invaded by ants. Isn't it too cold for this? Shouldn't they all be dead? I tried to take the fight to them and pour boiling water into their nest, except the burner blew out and they tried to take me out with gas vapors instead. We noticed and ventilated the house before exploding or asphyxiating, but the score still stands at Ants: 1, Andrea: 0.