Saturday, March 17, 2012
Not many things can be done in ten seconds.
Look for a pen, answer a call, fish for your keys inside your purse, those things take less than ten seconds no matter how simple they are.
What you would never think could happen in ten seconds is losing your life.
Yesterday was Ronald's day off, we went out to run some errands with the baby and we were on our way home.
We were discussing what to eat and were crossing the street while chatting away. Not long after we made it to the other side of the street we heard a screech, we turned around just in time to see it happen.
The crash.
A lot of things go through your mind when you witness something like that.
"Is everyone alright?" "How did it happen?" "Should I call 911?"
But the most pressing question in my head was "What if we would have crossed the street ten seconds after we did?"
The damage to the car wasn't too bad. There was a dent left by the van that crashed into it. How fascinating it is to see exactly how metal gives in when hit by another vehicle. It's almost as if time slowed down, I can clearly remember it, BANG! CRUNCH!
We were considering going somewhere else before going home, we even stopped a little to discuss it. All I can think about, what if we had taken ten more seconds talking, would we have been hit by the van instead of the car? The car didn't suffer much, but metal is more resistant than meat and bones. Would we have survived? Would my son be alive and if so, would he now be an orphan?
I didn't think about these things straight away, they came gradually. At the moment of the crash I kept wishing everyone was alright and hoping that it was just a scare.
Thankfully there were no serious injuries except for the dent in the side of the small car.
We fought, Ronald and I.
I needed time to think and I took the baby with me for walk.
That's when the fear set it, that's when all those horrible images of us in the middle of that accident flooded my mind.
Ten seconds, that's all that could have separated us from life and death.
I cried for a while after the initial shock had gone away. I was terrified of what I had seen and I kept thinking about how short life is and how fucking stupid I am sometimes when I cross the street.
Ten seconds, think about it, that's all it takes.
Look for a pen, answer a call, fish for your keys inside your purse, those things take less than ten seconds no matter how simple they are.
What you would never think could happen in ten seconds is losing your life.
Yesterday was Ronald's day off, we went out to run some errands with the baby and we were on our way home.
We were discussing what to eat and were crossing the street while chatting away. Not long after we made it to the other side of the street we heard a screech, we turned around just in time to see it happen.
The crash.
A lot of things go through your mind when you witness something like that.
"Is everyone alright?" "How did it happen?" "Should I call 911?"
But the most pressing question in my head was "What if we would have crossed the street ten seconds after we did?"
The damage to the car wasn't too bad. There was a dent left by the van that crashed into it. How fascinating it is to see exactly how metal gives in when hit by another vehicle. It's almost as if time slowed down, I can clearly remember it, BANG! CRUNCH!
We were considering going somewhere else before going home, we even stopped a little to discuss it. All I can think about, what if we had taken ten more seconds talking, would we have been hit by the van instead of the car? The car didn't suffer much, but metal is more resistant than meat and bones. Would we have survived? Would my son be alive and if so, would he now be an orphan?
I didn't think about these things straight away, they came gradually. At the moment of the crash I kept wishing everyone was alright and hoping that it was just a scare.
Thankfully there were no serious injuries except for the dent in the side of the small car.
We fought, Ronald and I.
I needed time to think and I took the baby with me for walk.
That's when the fear set it, that's when all those horrible images of us in the middle of that accident flooded my mind.
Ten seconds, that's all that could have separated us from life and death.
I cried for a while after the initial shock had gone away. I was terrified of what I had seen and I kept thinking about how short life is and how fucking stupid I am sometimes when I cross the street.
Ten seconds, think about it, that's all it takes.
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