In An Instant

Let me say first that everyone is fine. We feel so thankful!!!!

Last Friday my mom and dad's moving truck came to their house and drove away with all their things.
On Saturday they each hopped into one of their two cars and drove, with my dad in front, to their new home, three houses down from us.
Somewhere past Laramie, where construction crews are working on the road, it was narrowed down to only two lanes, and my mother fell asleep behind the wheel.

I have to add a little here -
This is not posted to embarrass my mother. She had just spent three months getting ready to move, and then did it. She's been packing boxes, cleaning out things, cleaning up things, you know the routine. Its painful, and I remember clearly how exhausting it is.

This is my main point of this whole story. A week ago Sunday I was talking on the phone to my mom and dad and suggested that I come out and drive with my mom because I knew she wasn't used to driving for a long time. My dad likes to drive. He always drives. MyMike and I were married a few years before I realized that I Could Drive on a long trip too. Its just not how my parents have done it, and knowing that, I felt that I should fly out on Friday night and then drive back home with my mom on Saturday. First my dad, then my mom, assured me that they didn't need my help. My uncle had already offered, they said, and they'd already declined.
Well, the thought, kept coming to me, and I ended up suggesting it three times in different conversations that week, and each time I was told no, we'll be fine.

Well, back to the story. . . .Fortunately the car drifted to the right, and my mother woke up as she was heading straight into the snow marker on the edge of the road. That, of course, terrified her, so she turned the wheel fast, all going 65 mph, and then proceeded to spin three times all the way around. She hit the construction barrels on the side of the road.

My dad, looking through his mirror, was just sick inside, feeling horrified and helpless all at the same time.

Then an oncoming car approached my mother, as she was now in opposite lane of where she should have been, and fortunately, just in time, she was able to get control of the car and get it back to her lane, and then safely to the side of the road, and come to a stop.

I don't know how she even kept driving after that. The car was missing a mirror and has some dents, but really, it was fine. I would have been shaking worse than a leaf.

When they got to my house, they were there for about five minutes before this came up. Then in waves, I just kept realizing, except for the grace of God, she wouldn't be here right now. My dad said if she'd drifted left instead of right, she would have rolled the car for sure. If she hadn't have opened her eyes when she did, who knows what would have happened.

Can you imagine if she had just driven across the state to live by me and not made it?

I shudder.

It really might have been too much for me. I am feeling over and over, SO GRATEFUL she is well. Not a scratch, not a bruise.

Two things I take from this - If I feel prompted to do it, I cannot let others deter me. I need to follow the Spirit that guides me and act on it. President Monson has perfected this. I received the Spirit, and I must follow his example. Do not listen to the No's, even if its my parents. I respect them and always try to obey them, but sometimes I just have to ignore even them if the Spirit tells me differently.

The second thing is to never, ever, ever get so caught up in a dream and forget that it can all change in an instant. I was so immersed in having this great opportunity to be neighbors with my parents that I think I neglected to remember that Heavenly Father giveth and He taketh. It didn't occur to me that my dream could be taken away. Once the wheels were in motion I was already there mentally. I took for granted that this was going to be my new life, and I was going to love it and all would be well until they got much older. I need to remember that each moment is a gift, and that in an instant it all can change. I need to be more emotionally strong to prepare for those kinds of things and keep the Lord closer so obviously I can follow His Spirit more exactly. As my children would say, That was a fail, and so it was. I have been teaching them to say instead, That needs improvement. And, so I DO!

Lesson learned for me the hard way.

Last time I was with my mom we were celebrating her birthday at the reunion. May I never forget to treasure each day until her next one. Dad's, Mike's, all my children's too. Life is so very precious.