January 8, 2015

Starting the New Year off wrong... I mean right!

New  Years Day we decided to drive about 30 minutes east of our home towards our families cabin in the mountains so that our little girl could play in the snow. On the way up the truck slid around a little on the snow covered roads but nothing major. I of course was a nervous wreck though because, well lets be honest I'm paranoid. My anxiety is even worse when I'm pregnant so there you go! 

We found a spot to pull over for her to play just outside of Zions National Park. She was ecstatic! 



On the way down the mountain I was thinking what a great way to start the New Year... off on an adventure with my little family. I also thought to myself that I really need to relax & not be so uptight & expect the worst when we go out like that. Well not 1 minute later (no exaggeration) we turned a corner & there was a truck with a trailer sideways across the road. Brandon had to slam on his brakes & narrowly missed a mother & her 2 kids that were standing in the MIDDLE of the road. This forced us to slid off the side of the road into a big ditch with a bunch of large rocks and trees. 

Brandon of course was instantly angry & rightfully so in my opinion! I, on the other hand, went immediately to tears. I kept them under control though & turned around to see my little girl wide eyed in her car seat which had been knocked crooked when we hit the rocks. She wasn't upset so I calmed myself so I wouldn't make it worse. 

It took about 40 minutes for them to get the truck out of the rocks & surprisingly the truck was in better shape then I expected. It obviously could have been much worse had Brandon not been able to keep control of the truck enough on those slick roads to miss that mother & her kids. It could have really been tragic!

Later that day, after we were home I kept playing the events of the day in my head & feeling the same terror. Then it dawned on me right before bed.... What can I learn from today's events? 
  • Surprises can literally happen around any corner!
  • We are not invincible
  • We need to live each day telling the people we love our feelings so we have no regrets

I could go on & on but I think what I learned more than anything is that even though my paranoia & anxiety in this situation turned out to be right.... that is no way to live!

You cannot live your life afraid of what may lie ahead, around that next corner. Having constant anxiety & viewing the world, your life this way will only slow you down & keep you from achieving your dreams. 


I also find it very ironic that this happened New Years Day. The day everyone sees as the day that will set the tone for the rest of the year. 

Do I think this accident is telling me my 2015 is doomed? Absolutely not!

I think its telling me that 2015 is going to be a year to overcome many obstacles but if I push through & keep my focus on who I want to be then I will overcome. Just like we got ourselves out of those large rocks with minimal damage & came home to go about accomplishing our other tasks for the day. Which by the way we got a lot done after the accident around the house! 

All in all it was a really good & satisfying day! 

Did anything eventful happen for you the first day of the year? How would you react to this situation?!

 photo keiasig.jpg

Comments (13)

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So glad no one was harmed. Clearly the other family didn't have an ideal start to the year either, but it's never wise to just stand in the road like that.
1 reply · active 532 weeks ago
agreed! I'm happy it is over :D
Wow! That had to be scary. So glad everyone was ok in the end because things could have been so much worse! Hopefully you got the bad stuff out of the way so now 2015 can be an awesome year!
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1 reply · active 532 weeks ago
that is my hope as well! Thank you for stopping by :D I hope to see you again soon!
Wow, it's a good thing no one was hurt! I love the attitude you're starting off the year with. I'm sure I would have been shaken up just like you were! I wonder what they were doing in the road?
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1 reply · active 532 weeks ago
Honestly they were letting the kids play in the snow. A little dangerous if you ask me! I think they felt pretty dumb when they realized the gravity of the situation had we not been able to control the truck. Thank you for stopping by  :D I hope to see you again soon!
Delia Rusu's avatar

Delia Rusu · 533 weeks ago

We had a pretty calm and relaxing New Year, which was great.
I always look at the bright side of any event, which in your case Keia would be indeed that everyone is OK and nothing tragic happened. I really like your attitude as well and the brave way you look towards the future (of course an entire year cannot be doomed because of the events in a single day :)
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1 reply · active 532 weeks ago
Thank you Delia! I have really been working on my attitude towards life's circumstances. In a way I feel like this was a test to see how I am doing with that ha ha!

Thanks again!
Wow! I'm glad you're all okay! Nothing so startling happened to me on New Year's Day, thank goodness, but twice I've written about similar incidents. One was right here at home: http://rachelheller.org/my-amazing-brain/ The other was in a taxicab in Jordan: http://rachelheller.org/jordanian-taxis-and-a-nea... After these events, you certainly do start appreciating the little things!
1 reply · active 532 weeks ago
you definitely start to appreciate the little things when something like this shakes you! Thank you :D
Hi Keia, I know the feeling that you describe - so scary! I am happy to hear everything went well. I love your pictures!
I started the year with a storm - we had to take the horses indoors so they wouldn't get hurt by falling trees and flying around stuff.

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1 reply · active 532 weeks ago
oh wow that sounds like a stressful start to your New Year as well! I hope everything turned out okay for you!

Keia
So glad you and your family were unharmed - that sounds like a scary start to the year! I hope you have a great 2015!

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Emma
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