Thursday, November 15, 2012

The Evolution of Perspective

For those of you who have reached this post via Facebook, you possibly already know that I was in a car accident last night. I was stopped at a red light and was rear ended by a college girl. And I don't mean that she gave me a little 'love tap' on my bumper...I mean that she didn't see me soon enough and then accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the break. So she hit me going about 35-40 miles per hour.


As you can see from the photo, the back end of my car is pretty mangled and the car is inoperable. I'm currently involved in the annoying process of working with insurance companies, finding a rental car, and getting my car repaired. Hopefully this process does not drag on too long. We can't afford too much hassle as we are also currently in the process of leaving Seattle and moving to Bozeman, MT.

The scariest part about this whole ordeal was that Zoe was in the backseat in her car seat. It took me a second or two after the collision to catch my bearings, but once I realized we had been hit, my first thought was for the safety of my child. I instantly rushed around the car, whipped her car seat out of its dock, and scooped her into my arms. She was doing great, but just a little startled.

I find myself thinking about this accident in light of now having a child. If this would have happened a year ago, I would have been annoyed and pissed that this idiot driver just ruined my car and would have been focused on the hassle of needing to contact the police, my insurance company, and a tow truck. But when you have a child, none of that stuff matters much. As long as Zoe was safe, everything else was okay. I was relatively calm. I didn't get angry. I was patient and forgiving with the girl who hit me. I was grateful for the witnesses that were so helpful. In general, I wasn't my normal self! Being a father had suddenly changed my perspective and transformed me into a better person with better priorities.

Everyone always says that having a child changes everything in your life. They may be right.

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