My Practically Perfect Life

You know that saying “do as I say, not as I do”? I’ve said that so many times to my children. My parents said that to me. Did it work? Nope! It is human nature to mimic what we see, especially growing up. That’s kind of scary when you think about it. Some parents are awesome and always give their kids a good example of how to act. Some parents never grow up themselves so their kids have a different view of what it means to be an adult. Plus there is the outside world, tv and school and every other influence there is out there. As a mom it sucks sometimes knowing that no matter how hard I try to set my kids on the right path there is always something or someone out there that will show them different directions.

I could go on and on about this but it’s not the exact point of what I’m writing. Sure your kids will grow up with some of your characteristics or habits. But what happens when they do something that you did and it has nothing to do with them…or you? Coincidences. That’s what I’m talking about.

In 2010 I had a wreck. A bad one, I flipped my truck. I climbed out of the window and had a little scratch on my arm, but other than that I was injury free. The accident wasn’t my fault nor anyone else’s. It was just a case of wrong place wrong time. That was one of the scariest moments of my life. My children were young and I still thank God today that they weren’t with me. But it changed my life. In a lot of ways.

Fast forward 13 years. I received a call from my oldest son. The conversation went like this.

Him: Hey, did I catch you at a bad time? Me: No, what’s up? Him: Well I decided I was going to surprise you and come see you for the weekend! But then I flipped my car. Me: Whaaa ummmm what?!! Him: My car hydroplaned when I was turning to get on the highway and it hit the trailer on a semi and my car flipped. Sorry. Me: Oh my gosh! Don’t be sorry! Are you ok?! Him: Yeah I’m fine. How are you doing?

And so it went. My child. My 19 year old boy that made me a mom apologized for disrupting me and wanted to know how I was doing not even an hour after he flipped his dang car!! So that nobody wonders, he was fine. He was driving with his window down and had a jacket on. So he crawled out of the window and had a few tiny scratches on the tops of his hands. No other injury. The paramedics checked him out and he was dropped off by the tow truck driver to wait for me to go get him. He was an hour and a half away. When I got to him he walked out with dinner in a to go box for me.

My point of my writing this is that one, what a freaking coincidence that my son flipped his car and crawled out the same way I did and had mere scratches. The wreck being a wrong place wrong time situation, same as mine. The only thing that was damaged was the car, which is replaceable. But my son isn’t. And to go a bit further I need to express just how amazed and proud of my son I am. He just went through a very traumatic experience, lost his car that he loved and all he could think of was making sure I was ok. And fed! I brag about my children all the time. And I don’t take credit for their amazingness. But dad gum if I don’t sit back and wonder what I did right sometimes. Because my kind hearted boys never cease to amaze me.

I suppose coincidence or not children will grow up to copy their parents in some form or fashion. I just hope it’s going to be the good things. And this scary instance is the only negative thing carried on. The thing I ponder though is was this accident set in motion by God? I know that after my wreck I had an epiphany of sorts. I realized that my life could have ended and that I needed to make the most and best of the time on earth I have. I made changes in my life and the way I carried on, and the way I raised my children. I used the wreck as a stepping stone to something new and better instead of using it as an excuse to be sad or upset. So, while my son is home and carless, I intend to talk to him and see how he views this. To see if he also feels that this is God saying “make some changes in your life” and I am glad that I can be there to help him any way that I can or he needs me to.

“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous” – Albert Einstein