Your Choices Matter
A Throwback to September 24, 2017
I was going to do a video but thought that some might prefer a written message. This past week, I was presented with moments that left me wondering what would’ve happened if I had made a different choice. What did I avoid? What could’ve been the outcome? Each day, we’re presented with a choice. The choice could be as simple as do I want to stop for coffee or make it at home. Sure, it’s a simple choice, but depending on what you choose, it could change your life.
Back to my week and why this has given me thought about every action we take. Monday before I left to go pick up my Hubby, I thought of a few errands I might run by leaving a little early. As I was leaving my house, I fished out my keys to lock the door and walked over to my car. It’s a 2008 and normally all I have to do is touch the handle and the car opens. However, this time it didn’t. I fished my keys back out, and the fob was missing. I thought for a moment as I searched my purse that my keys had looked different to me. When I pulled them out, it just hadn’t really registered. So I emptied my purse, called my hubby. Called the restaurant, we ate dinner at on Friday. Hubby has a fob to so maybe he opened the door. No avail: my fob was missing. So I went to where my purse had been but nothing. This wasn’t good. Then I looked right by the front door and there it was. Problem solved, yet it left me with a lingering feeling of what had I missed by my 15-minute delay?
Maybe the thought was there from a time back in 2012 when I moved a small glass doll hutch and the top glass slid off and shattered. I could’ve left it on the stoop until we came back, but I took the time to clean it. Fast forward to a half hour later and as a light turns yellow in front of the college and the F-150, that was behind us, who was late for court clams into us. No, the accident wasn’t fun but if I stepped back and remove us from the accident, the truck would’ve t-boned a kid leaving the college, possibly killing him. Had I made a different choice, there would’ve been a different outcome.
On Saturday, I got the same message that I received on Monday. This time with a little foreshadowing. As I was leaving our small town, it appeared a car was going to blow through a stop sign, but he didn’t. I was grateful. We went and did a few errands before going to Woodstock to see what the Farmer’s Market might offer. Parking was a bear, and well, it was hot. So I was going to pass until I saw the local Honey Vendor. There he was, and there was a spot across from him. I stepped into the bank for a moment to get some cash and then went to the honey vendor and, well, there were Honey Crisp apples at the next vendor. Heat be damned. Little did I know that choice might us kept us from being part of the accident in that is pictured.
We left the Farmer’s Market and headed home. We came a few minutes after this had happened. I pulled over and called 911. Hubby got out of the car and walked closer. He would be my relay to the operator about the woman in the Kia. The woman in the Kia remained conscious and the paramedics would take her to the hospital for minor injuries.
So what happened? The white car pulled out from a stop sign like the guy earlier almost did. The red truck was traveling south, struck the car and flipped it and then crossed the center line, ending up in the field going the opposite way.
After hubby and I got back in the car, I was a little shaken. Even though I used to deal with this type of thing years ago, it still gets to me. However, it was more than that. I realized had I not made the choice to stop at the Farmer’s Market, there is a very good chance we would’ve been involved. We would’ve been the car traveling northbound. It might have been a minor accident, then again, for all concerned. It is better that we weren’t part of it. I can tell you I know how lucky I am and happy I made the choice I did.
So this week as you go about your daily grind. Stop and think about your choices. They may seem simple or mundane, but just remember, for every action, there is a reaction. Be safe.