Life Is Precious

I've always thought of myself as a decent driver. I've travelled all over North America in my car. But Monday was different. I saw my life flash before my eyes. Monday afternoon was one of the most horrific times of my life.
I've done many crazy things in my life, like bungee jumping, skydiving, whitewater rafting etc... and I have never experienced fear like I did on Monday . While travelling home from a doctor's appointment with my oldest son, I noticed my brakes weren't working. I thought...maybe they are just sticking...so I tested them again. I HAD NO BRAKES WHATSOEVER!!! A bridge was coming up, and I knew that if the lights at the bottom weren't green I was in trouble. They Weren't Green. I had about 10 seconds to make a descision, all the while panicking inside, but trying not to put my son in panic.
SNOWBANKS!!! It's winter....we've had alot of snow....they would stop me wouldn't they? At the bottom of the hill I managed to gear down, and put us in a small snowbank. Did I mention this was rush hour downtown? Not thinking clearly, I decided it would be best to try to get us to a parking lot close by so the van would be safe until a tow truck could come and get us. I figured I could coast once the light was green about 1 block and get us where I thought we'd be safe to get out and call my husband. Well...let me tell ya. Vans do not just coast...they accellerate quickly because of the weight. I tried my horn to warn the traffic crossing the intersection from the other direction. Horn didn't work. I ended up going through a red light dodging oncoming traffic with cars just missing me by inches. I thought we were going to die. It was just like in the movies, where the robber is dashing side to side avoiding cars just narrowly escaping a crash. Finally, the parking lot I was expecting was to my right. I pulled in at an allarming speed and crashed into another snowbank to avoid the car ahead of me. We were ok...we were ok...was all I could think of. It's funny how you forget how precious life is until something like this happens. Thinking back, I was exceptionally calm when we got out of the car. My son was laughing saying, "cool mom! you're a good driver!" I was in shock. I lost it once I got home and saw my husband and the other 3 babies. I think I'm still a little afraid to get behind the wheel at this point. We are alive. That's all that matters.
In contrast to this horrific experience, I had a great one last week when I got to the mail box and found yet another awesome package from my secret pal! I apologize pal for not posting about this sooner. It has been in the back of my mind all week. You truly are the best Secret Pal a girl could ask for!
So without further ado...( minus the fantastic Burt's Bee's hand cream which is in my daughter's room[she's sleeping])