Airbags

Before the week started we knew that we would be busy. But we had no idea just how crazy it would be.

We have been busy painting walls, packing cartons, paving footpaths, and mulching gardens. It is funny as we look at the work we have done here. We can’t help wondering why we haven’t done it previously. The house is looking fantastic, but we’re moving out. We would have loved to have been here to enjoy it for a little longer. Although, if we were staying I somehow doubt that it would be getting done.

We have taken some time to enjoy people that we have come to love too. On Friday it was Chanel’s final day of school. We organised a party in the park for that afternoon, and invited all of Chanel’s and Abbie’s friends to come and enjoy a final get together. For two hours, we played and enjoyed the company of wonderful friends.

We said goodbye to our guinea pig this week too. We are not taking “Tuffy” to Wollongong with us, so he had to find a new home. Some friends of our lost their guinea pig recently, and were happy to adopt Tuffy.

We also enjoyed a celebration during the week. A good friend of mine from church and university was married. It has been a long time since we attended a wedding, and it was nice to experience the joy and love of the occasion.

The biggest news of week, though, is that our little Daihatsu was involved in a serious accident on Thursday night. I was driving with Abbie. We were following Kylie to her parent’s home for a family dinner. I was driving along the main road when a car came out of a side street in an attempt to turn in front of me in order to go in the opposite direction to that which I was travelling. I hit the brakes as hard as I could, but there was nothing I could have done to prevent the crash.

She had failed to see me. The Daihatsu t-boned her car, hitting just to the front of her driver side door. The impact spun her car around, while we basically kept going straight through. Both airbags were deployed. The airbag hit me right on the tip of my nose, but there was no pain. Abbie got the impact of the airbag above her right eye. She screamed as soon as the cars collided. It was amazing, in hindsight, how clearly I was thinking as it happened. The accident occurred extremely fast. There was no such thing as everything going in slow motion. In fact, it was just the opposite.

I stopped the car and jumped out instantly so I could look after Abbie. As I raced around the rear of the car I looked in the direction of the vehicle that we had hit and yelled, “What are you thinking?”

I reefed open Abbie’s door and carried her to the side of the road where I held her. She was extremely upset.

Meanwhile, Kylie had heard the impact from her position 500m ahead of me. She saw the car in her rear view mirror and turned around immediately. She came and looked after Abbie. A fireman was on his way home from work when it occurred and pulled up right behind the accident. He got the scene in order instantly. He was remarkably helpful.

Tow-trucks arrived within minutes (I don’t know how they can be so much faster than emergency services). It was almost as though they were hiding around the corner waiting for it to happen. The ambulance was on the scene a few minutes later. Abbie claimed she was hurting from the top of her head all the way down to her toes. We were a little worried about her. The other lady (who had pulled out in front of me) was physically fine. However, when she saw me take Abbie out of the car she had become extremely emotional at the thought of what might have happened. It took over an hour before she overcame the shock of the accident.

About fifteen minutes after the accident the adrenaline began to wear off. I became aware of a throbbing on my shin. I had an enormous lump that was continuing to expand. It ended up being almost the size of my fist. My leg must have hit under the dashboard on impact.

Abbie and I got to ride in an ambulance. The ambo’s felt that a doctor should look over Abbie as she was complaining that she was very sore. We arrived at the hospital, Abbie was given 5 ml of Panadol, No more hurties. She was fine.

We feel as though we have been so blessed. This accident could have been devastating. Instead we have all walked away without any real issues.

I had a truckload of mulch dumped on our driveway during the week. My intention was that I would spend a couple of days shovelling it onto our back garden. Due to my leg being sore, I had to ask for help. About ten men from church came by and moved the whole load in just over two hours. It would have taken me several days. I was so grateful for their service.

So now all the big jobs are done around the house. The paving is finished, and looks great. The painting has been done. The mulch has been spread. Still, there is packing to do. And we need to get our car situation figured out. We anticipate that the car will be written off, but this is yet to be assessed. We leave our home this week. And we are still looking for a house in Wollongong.

This Christmas is going to be interesting.

Note also, there will not be any blog updates until we are unpacked in Wollongong. I suspect this will be early in January. Have a joyful, blessed Christmas