Reflecting on what you are grateful for during Thanksgiving week seems compulsory. For me, Thanksgiving weeks is almost always in conjunction with my birthday. In fact, as a child, I had birthday weeks with what seemed like endless celebrations. With such precedence, birthdays in adulthood have been less than stellar. About 10 years ago I started taking vacations for my birthdays.
Vacations have ranged from quiet modest family camping trips to car trips to our Nation's Capital, Raleigh, Memphis/Nashville and other points along the Eastern Seaboard. Last week, we drove to visit family in New Jersey.
We were hosted by my cousin who lives in Freehold and visited with my sister who lives in New Milford. While there, we celebrated my birthday in New York City and even went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (first time ever)! We also visited Independence Hall in Philadelphia and rounded out the day with a quick run up the Rocky steps and a little cheese steak challenge between Geno's and Pat's (Pat's won hands down). We had an opportunity to visit where my husband I used to go apple picking when we were dating and got to enjoy an apple pie from the store at Battleview Orchards. We took the boys (18 and 19) to the Englishtown Auction (who knew that could impress them?). Our last day was spent on the Jersey Shore at Atlantic City. We weren't there for the gambling, but so our boys could see it the way my husband I once saw it (did you know so many have closed or are closing?)
We had an awesome week! We left on Saturday morning feeling lucky to have enjoyed these nostalgic days and to have experienced them with our boys. We were truly grateful for the life we have.
Around 6:50 p.m., just after our gas stop in Dillon, South Carolina; a Buck jumped into the road with no time for us to avoid him. We are grateful.
No. I'm not crazy. We are grateful.
You see, we saw him hesitate from jumping in front of a small white car traveling in front of us. Remember, we are on I-95 going between 65 and 70 mph. Despite applying the brakes and swerving behind his path to avoid him, we still hit him dead on. He hit the front of our Honda Pilot, bounced forward and into the middle lane. He tried to get up, but another car was already approaching in the middle lane. My husband's instincts kicked in. With the car smoking everywhere and headlights pointing sideways instead of forward, he drove us towards the nearest exit in Summerton, South Carolina. We were scared and now without a car, but we were uninjured. We are grateful.
There were so many ways for this to have turned out badly. The last couple of long trips I've taken, I used my small car. The buck would have surely come through my windshield most likely impale us with his antlers. If the buck would have jumped in front of the white car ahead of us, they would have been killed and we would have been involved in a multiple car pile up. My husband could have lost control of the vehicle... We are truly grateful.
While we were obviously inconvenienced without a car in a city where we knew no one. We were helped by many including the front desk clerk at the Summerton Days Inn, Rebecca. Eugene with Taylor Made Towing was also very friendly. We couldn't ask for nicer and more understanding people with Geico. Even Priceline was helpful interceding on our behalf to issue a refund for the hotel arrangements we had to cancel when we could no longer get there that evening.
We don't see the accident as a terrible end to our otherwise great trip, we see it as a reminder of everything we have to be grateful for.
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