If I ever take another day for granted, someone please slap me.

There was quite the ice storm around here late this afternoon, of course in time for the 5 o'clock rush hour traffic (why does it always happen at that exact moment?) that reminded me of last year's storm at about this time.

I told my dad that I didn't need to ride home from work with him, that I would be fine and would take it slow and be safe and careful driving.

I didn't know that even that doesn't stop potential accidents from happening.

It happened when I was at the corner of 4 and Gender Road, which just happens to be the last turn before I get to my development. Up ahead of me, I noticed that the light was turning red and I needed to slow down because of it; the cars at the intersection were getting a little too near, and I was going a little faster than I probably should have been, considering the conditions.

I put my brakes on, and on any given day, things would have been fine. With a coating of ice on the road, however, that all changed.

As soon as I put the brakes on, my wheels started to spin out and I was starting to slide out to the right.

My gut reaction was to compensate by turning my wheel to the left, but then years of drivers ed./defensive driving/common sense kicked in, and I realized I needed to do exactly the opposite of what my gut told me to do, which was to let go, and let my car turn to the right while slowly applying my brake. It was also in that second when I realized that this could be the end to a lot of things, for my car was spinning out on Route 4 and could have ended up like one of any number of the cars I passed on my way home, which had either their front end smashed into the midian, or their back end smashed into the curb facing the opposite way in traffic. I had never experienced that sort of thing before, and while I won't say my life flashed before my eyes, I will say that I was very scared, both for myself and for anyone else who might have been in the way.

Thankfully, there was no one in the right hand land.
Thankfully, I was far enough behind the cars at the light that I hit no one in front of me.
Thankfully, the cars behind me were far enough behind that no one hit me.

Thankfully, my car stopped with my front end in basically the direction I needed to go. The cars that were stopped let me go in front of them and make my way slowly into my turn lane.

I was home within five minutes (having gone even slower than previously, for by that time, the built-up tension was at the point of releasing itself, and I wanted to make sure it didn't get in the way of my driving abilities).

I can't tell you how thankful I am that there is nothing worse than some high-strung nerves to deal with at the moment. I learned the value of leaving an inordinate amount of space between vehicles the last time I was in an accident, and I am so very thankful for that now. I am also thankful that my life and the lives of those driving around me were spared from something awful.

We all must have something bigger planned for us that we still need to do in this world, and I for one am grateful.

And so, if any of you should ever catch me whining or complaining about how supposedly unfair life ever is, or if you catch me taking life and/or other people for granted, you have my permission to slap me. Or at least, remind me very strongly in the way of your own choosing that there are just some things shouldn't ever be taken for granted. M'kay?