That happened yesterday. I was taking my little guy on a routine trip to my parents house before heading to work. It was so routine that in order to leave early enough to miss rush hour traffic I postponed combing my mad jungle mane and just threw a sweat shirt over my pyjamas.
We were three quarters of the way there when the truck driver in front of me was swerving and changing lanes without looking in his blind spot. He almost caused one collision but the guy in the other lane was quick enough to escape. 3 minutes later he does it again, this time the black car in the next lane (in his blind spot again) didnt escape. 50 yards away from us the black car and tractor trailer truck crash! The black car swerves out of control makes a full circle, in the process hitting another SUV and truck before eventually getting to the shoulder. In the mean time I slam the brakes and instinctively look in the rearview mirror and helplessly scream as another tractor trailer truck crashes into the back of my car. I don't even remember how I got from the inner lane to the shoulder but thanks to adrenaline I did. Got out of the car, opened my son's door and got him out of his car seat. There was smoke and crashing noises everywhere, all I could do was hold on to my little boy and hope that nothing near us exploded. When the crashing stopped and people started getting out of their cars I got closer to my car and saw that in addition to other damages, my rear window was completely shattered and panicked because my son was in the back seat. Frantically I check him all over and even got the paramedics to look at him but it was a miracle that my little boy was completely unscathed.
When I think about it, things could have been so much worse. The trucker who hit me braked so hard that his tire wore out till only the metal wheel (core) was left. I really do believe he saved our life. How I changed 2 lanes to get to the shoulder is another miracle...I dont know how it happened amidst all the crashes in all the lanes. There were 6 trucks and 3 cars involved in the accident on I-95 southbound at 7.36am yesterday and not a single person was hurt. If thats not enough to give perspective to life I dont know what is.
This morning as I drank my tea and ate the carrot cake I baked a couple of days ago I couldn't help but reflect on God's wonderful blessing in saving my baby angel's life.
Here's the recipe of the cake I had for breakfast. I really do hope you enjoy this cake, it has carrots and no butter so its practically health food!
Carrot cake
(Adapted from David Lebovitz)
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cinnamon
Generous pinches of cloves and nutmeg
1 tsp of salt
4 cups of grated carrots (loosely packed)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour one 9X13 inch or two 8- or 9-inch cake pans.
Sift together the flour, sugar, spices, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat the eggs until they are pale and frothy in a large bowl with a handheld mixer. Drizzle in the oil and vanilla.
Add flour mixture to the eggs and mix until just combined.
Fold in carrots, raisins and nuts into the batter. Then pour the batter into your choice of cake pan. Bake 30-35 minutes for 2X 8in/9in pans or 55 minutes for the 9X13 inch pan or until the surface springs back when gently touched. Serve at room temperature.
