Dear Lady,

It’s been a year since I received that awful phone call from Maryland. The call was from my husband who was in Maryland on business. He said, “Honey. We’ve been in an accident. I’m in an ambulance. My back really hurts. I don’t know what hospital we are going to, but I will have someone call you. I love you.”

His world changed that day and so did our family’s. One minute my husband was sitting in the passenger seat of a rental car along with three of his coworkers. They had just been to Starbuck’s across the street of the office building they were going to have a meeting at. Their light turned green, so they proceeded to cross the six lane intersection. They almost made it completely through the intersection and into the parking lot when you ran your red light and hit them.

The reason why I’m writing this letter is to tell you thank you.

I know you are thinking why is she thanking me? Don’t get me wrong, this accident turned our whole world upside down–ER visits, 5 broken ribs with one broken twice, a hurt hip, re-injured groin, surgeries, missed trips, missed work, missed kid activities, depression, weight gain, lots and lots of pain. The negatives are plenty.

I wanted to thank you because if you would have hit my husband’s side of the car a few seconds earlier, his injuries would have been even worse, maybe even fatal. 

I don’t know why you ran the red light. Distracted driving is a real problem in the U.S. Maybe you missed your cup holder and dropped your coffee. Maybe you got in an argument with your husband and you were upset. Maybe you were texting or checking your Facebook status. Whatever the reason, I hope it doesn’t happen again. 

Because of you, I’ve learned to hesitate at intersections. I’ve learned to not look at my phone while driving. I’ve learned to try to be more present behind the wheel. Thank you for that.

Most of all, I’ve learned that life can change in an instant, so we need to embrace it. We need to hug our families. We need play and laugh. We need to use our gifts to their fullest. We need to travel and give back. We need to love and we need to forgive.

I’m working on the forgiving. One day I’ll get there. 

Sincerely,

Me