Ouch!

There I sat in my car at 6:30 p.m. Monday evening waiting for a red light to change to green when. . . A jolting crash! I bounced a bit although , for the most part, I was firmly held in place by the seat belt. Someone had rear-ended my car. That "Ouch!" was my car complaining about the damage to its tail.

I got out, as did the other driver, and surveyed the damage. I suggested that we pull the cars out of traffic into a nearby gas station driveway and exchange information and she agreed. The woman was so apologetic and kept telling me that it was all her fault and how badly she felt. We exchanged information, i.e. driver's licenses, car registrations, insurance cards. Before we went on out way, she thanked me for being so calm and not screaming at her. I shrugged; blowing off steam would only create stress for me and I stopped doing that, for the most part, after my open heart surgery nearly 4 years ago. Besides I suspect that I was in a bit of a state of shock at that moment and the amount of damage did not look too severe. (Of course, that probably means that the cost of repairs will be extremely high.)

Now the really stressful part begins. Dealing with insurance companies, getting estimates, filling out and filing reports, having the car repaired. It's all just another "ouch!" that life throws our way.