It Happened

"Mom," Makenna sobbed over the phone, "I've had an accident."

My heart stopped moving and my lungs ceased breathing. Then came the words I was waiting to hear: "I'm not hurt. Everyone is fine."

Having teenagers is scary for so many reasons. The number one reason for fear, in my opinion, is that they are legally able to place themselves in the driving position of a motorized vehicle and DRIVE AWAY. Whoever made this a legal activity did not have teenagers. My daughter thinks Raman Noodles constitutes a great breakfast, and she has lost her debit card three times over the summer. Yet, she is legally able to DRIVE AWAY.

And just to ensure that I will someday be very good friends with a heart doctor, my two sons are also now driving. These are the boys who drove a go-cart into the bonfire. Yes, the actual fire. Luckily my son's only accident since legally driving has been to crash my precious Jeep into a tree. Nobody was hurt.


Mike and I hightailed it over to the accident site where the police assured us that Makenna handled herself responsibly and was not at fault in any way. We hugged Makenna and her friends, who were shaking and chattering like frightened birds, and we spoke to the woman who had pulled out in front of Makenna's car, who was wandering like a zombie. I think the police were glad when they could finally leave.

"The most scary part," Makenna said, "was that even though I was responsible for what happened to everyone, I had no control over the situation. It just happened."

Ironic, I thought to myself as I watched her get into her sad, broken car, that is just how I feel.