Thursday, September 03, 2009

Vacation off to a grim start

Misty called me today, very upset, and told me, "I need you to leave work right now. I was just in a bad car wreck." These were grim words that no husband wants to hear, but I was out the door minutes later, headed to pick up Emily from school. Once I gathered Emily (who was in a very cheerful mood), I cautiously explained to her what had happened. She wanted to know if Mommy and Kendall were dead, and I explained that no, they were OK. It was so sad to hear her concern over something like that.

Since we were right by our State Farm office, I stopped in there to go ahead and get things rolling with insurance. I also used their phone to call Misty for an update (because even in 2009, I still don't have a cell phone). She wasn't able to tell me much because she was speaking to the police, but I learned that she'd hit someone else from behind, and she said her car was totaled.

Emily and I got back in my car and went to pick up Misty and Kendall from the scene of the accident. When we got there, the police officer was just finishing up paperwork with Misty, and the car had already been towed. Misty was visibly shaken, but seemed OK for the most part. She said that her nose hurt from where the airbag had hit her, but she didn't think it was broken. Kendall had a cut on her leg, but it wasn't anything major -- it had already scabbed over on its own (how she actually got cut is beyond me). I still haven't seen the car, but the officer shared his opinion that it would probably be considered totaled.

We piled the things Misty had snatched from her car into my trunk, and drove back to State Farm. Since we're supposed to be leaving for vacation this weekend, we were concerned about getting things in order as quickly as possible. Unfortunatly, we learned that our insurance does not cover a rental car (we've added it now, and the cost was next to nothing, but it won't do us any good this time). Now we're debating whether we drive my car (which is even smaller than Misty's) to Orlando or if we shell out the money for a rental.

It's not the best way to start out our vacation, obviously, but I'm trying to look on the bright side. While we're away, Misty has no need for her car, so at least she's not burdened in getting to work. In the hopes that the car can be repaired, the auto shop can be working on it while we're gone. Hopefully, our vacation will also help Misty take her mind off the trauma and stress of the accident. We'll see.

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