<p>Driving home last week I was struck by how disgustingly lucky I am.&#0160; I was thinking of all the many things I have to be grateful for.&#0160; To top it all off, the weather was gorgeous, the kids were behaving and I was on Top of Things.</p>



<p>Everything was perfect.</p>

<p>That&#39;s when I heard it.

</p>

<p>BOOM!<br /><em><br /></em><em>Someone&#39;s been in an accident!</em></p>

<p>I was glad it wasn&#39;t me.&#0160; Until I noticed my car tilting, ever so slightly, to the right.&#0160; That&#39;s when the seconds turned to minutes.&#0160; But what happened didn&#39;t register until I saw the light reflected in the shards of glass raining around my car like bubbles.&#0160; I felt like I was drowning. </p>

<p><em>Gratitude, my ass.</em></p>

<p>I looked behind me and saw a silver car in the parking lane, its door flapping back and forth into the street, and the driver jumping up and down in her seat, her face frozen in terror.&#0160; </p>

<p><em>How?</em></p>

<p>I saw my boys, strapped in their car seats, searching my face for answers.&#0160; Thankfully, they were fine.</p>

<p><em>Thank God.<br /></em></p>

<p>I pulled over, got out of the car, opened the back door to get a better look at the boys.&#0160; I didn&#39;t notice how the door had buckled into itself, the gash.&#0160; People ran over, offering their cell phones, offering to hold my babies.</p>

<p>I was in shock.&#0160; </p>

<p><em>They&#39;re fine.&#0160; Thank you.</em></p>

<p>The other driver rushed over.</p>

<p>&quot;Are you OK?&quot;&#0160; Her eyes grew huge.&#0160; &quot;OHMYGOD YOU HAVE CHILDREN IN THE CAR!&#0160; OHMYGOD YOUR TIRE!&quot;</p>

<p>That&#39;s when I noticed the damage.&#0160; That&#39;s when I saw the huge dent over my right front tire.&#0160; That&#39;s when I saw that the wheel had a 4-inch gash on it&#39;s side.&#0160; That&#39;s when I saw the crushed metal, the peeling paint - our brand-new family car&#39;s side crumpled like a piece of paper.</p>



<p>&quot;Yes, yes, I&#39;m fine.&#0160; Move your car to the parking lot, get yourself out of traffic.&quot;</p>

<p>I did that.&#0160; </p>

<p>She went back to her car.&#0160; A man in a business suit came over, cell phone in hand and called the police.&#0160; He offered to change my tire, but I refused.&#0160; A limo driver on break brought me water bottles and sat with me to keep me company until my husband could get there.&#0160; A nanny out with her charges offered to play with my son.</p>

<p><em>Thank you.&#0160; Thank you.</em></p>

<p>I asked the limo driver if he saw anything.&#0160; I still didn&#39;t know what had happened.</p>

<p>&quot;I heard the accident, but I didn&#39;t see it.&#0160; But she definitely moved her car closer while you were distracted to make it look like she was further into the parking lane.</p>



<p><em>Thank you.</em></p>

<p>Police lights, a few questions.&#0160; My husbands arrives.&#0160; I try to cry, but no tears come out.</p>

<p>&quot;What happened?&quot;</p>

<p><em>I don&#39;t know.&#0160; I don&#39;t know.</em></p>

<p>We eventually figure it out.&#0160; She opened her car door into the side of my car.&#0160; My front bumper is dent-free.&#0160; She wasn&#39;t looking, was distracted, parked too far from the curb, and opened her car door into a car.</p>

<p>Into our car.&#0160; </p>

<p>Had she opened her door a second before she did, I might have seen her and been able to stop.&#0160; But she opened the door as I was driving past her, after she was in my line of sight.</p>

<p>There was nothing I could have done to avoid it.&#0160; </p>

<p><em>It&#39;s not your fault,</em> my husband said. <em> It&#39;s not your fault, s</em>aid the insurance company.&#0160; I try to tell myself, <em>It&#39;s not your fault.</em></p>

<p>Still, my head is filled with doubt.&#0160; What if I had taken another route?&#0160; What if I had a left a few minutes later?</p>

<p>What if?</p>
