You can learn a lot of good life lessons on a daily basis if, like me, you make a lot of stoopid mistakes.
Today is a great example.
Everything was going along well. Everyone got up, showered, dressed and fed in time for me to leave by 7:30 to get the kid to school and me to work.
So I hop in the car, buckle up, and put the care into reverse to pull out of the garage. So far, everything is going according to the usual daily routine.
Then, for a split second, I look down to adjust the air conditioner/defogger that I had turned on during yesterday's afternoon rush-hour downpour.
Bad idea.
As I turned the temperature dial from medium to cool, I heard the sickening crunch of plastic on metal. In my inattentive backing up, I had run my driver's side rearview mirror into the metal garage door track.
I wasn't moving very fast, and I hit the break immediately. But the damage had been done. The mirror is pulled away from the door about a quarter of an inch, and it cracked at the base where it connects to the car door.
My first auto accident of any kind since 1993. Son. Of. A. BITCH!
For the sake of the kid in the backseat, I managed to internalize a stream of obscenities. The rest of the morning drive went off as usual, and my temper was soothed a little by the conversation with the kid's teacher wherein I learned that she had a great day at school yesterday and yada, yada, yada.
During the short commute I tried to grasp for one of those aforementioned life lessons. Always stay focused on the task at hand? It's better to move forward to backward?
The best I could come up with is "Watch where you're fuckin' going!"
tagged: driving, accident, car, rear view, life, lesson
I cannot tell you how many times I've almost run into the side of my garage due to a poor parking job, or what have you.
ReplyDeleteBut I haven't done it yet! HA!
Actually, years ago, I backed into a closed garage door. As in, looked behind me, saw that there wasn't any blue sky or grass in the rear-view mirror, and proceeded to back up anyway. I had a terrible cold, but really, is that any kind of excuse?
Faith, my dad did the same thing a few years ago. Nothing like wrecking the car AND the garage!
ReplyDeleteLife lesson: sh!t happens. :)
Play it off, when the super model see's it blame it on the neighborhood kids.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I would do, but I'm single and know nothing about women
Growing up my parents didn't have a garage but one day I pulled in behind my mom's car and ran into the house as she was leaving, she came out, saw my car plain as day and backed into it anyway, no damage b/c I was literally like 3 feet behind her...later that day I left and came back before her and she pulled in behind me...as I left I backed into her...life lesson - can't have 2 blondes driving in the same household....
ReplyDeleteI beat you, Faith - I backed into a light pole in an open parking lot - thought I just fell into a ditch, so drove forward and then gunned it - right back into the cement base of the pole again.
ReplyDeleteI'm an idiot.
And I'm okay with that.
That's my life lesson for the day.