Near Miss...

All week I looked forward to yesterday.

We had arrangements made for the kids (hanging out with Aunt Casy) and tickets to see the KSU Wildcat men play OU and women play KU. Of course, before we could leave we both had some errands to run. Todd went to the grocery store and got some snacks and quick, easy lunch stuff for the kids. Then he filled out my Envoy with gas. When he was pulling in the drive I was pulling out--on the way to get some cash at the bank in his pickup.

When I parked in the garage I was juggling the bank statement, cash, cash envelope, and my ID. So, I was a bit distracted as I was climbing out of the vehicle. I wondered if I had pulled in far enough and, to my dismay, the garage door went back up when it was almost shut. I guessed that it had bumped the back bumper and I needed to pull in a bit more. But, I left it thinking I would take a look when we headed out.

Once inside I helped Todd put away his purchases. I found myself alone in the kitchen completing this task. When finished, I thought I should reward myself with my favorite treat, an ice cold Diet Dr. Pepper. We keep our pop out in a fridge in the garage so I headed back out. However, the pickup was gone!

My mind immediately told me that Todd must've had to run somewhere. But I knew that wasn't the case because I remembered seeing him disappear with a magazine into our bathroom. So...I walked on into the garage and looked out the door. There was the pickup--across the street in the neighbors yard with its nose stuck out in the road!

First I looked all around--not only to make sure nobody was watching, but also to make sure nobody had been hurt! I ran across the street and up into the neighbors yard then jumped in the pickup and found that it was in reverse. I apparently hadn't put it all the way in Park. So, it had been rolling a bit when the garage door was trying to close--forcing it to open back up.

I quickly pulled back into the garage and went inside laughing to share the story with my husband. He went out and looked his pickup over to make sure there were no scratches or side mirrors missing. Then we both had a good laugh, wondering how I got lucky enough to pull such a stunt with no consequences (other than some mysterious tire tracks in the neighbor's grass).

Of course, things could've ended much differently. We live on a pretty busy street that seems to have quite a bit of traffic for a residential neighborhood but also a lot of foot traffic with walkers and bicycle riders at all hours. Could I have handled the emotional (not to mention financial) consequences if someone had been injured? My negligence was due to the multiple distractions at the time, but that would've been little consolation.

It's funny how things work out. Next time I might not be so lucky.