A Funeral We Shouldn't Be Having

Wednesday while I was in the pediatrician's office waiting to hear about Lily's concussion, etc., and feeling all too intensely that life is very fragile, I got a phone call from Saintly Brother. A family member's 25-year-old husband was killed in a head-on collision by an elderly man who crossed the center line.

The family member is actually my nephew's step-daughter (I'm closer in age to my nephew than to my brother). The step-daughter and her husband had two small girls, one just an infant. Neither will remember their father.

I hardly knew him. But what a loss. The thought is overwhelming.

Today I'm picking up my father and we're traveling I don't know how many counties over for the funeral. My father was in a head-on collision when he was 18. His sister died. How do some of us make it, and some of us not?

I have so many thoughts about this. One if them is that I'm glad my father has quit driving, though just last week he threatened to buy a truck and fire Ike (again). Just because you're the only one in the car doesn't mean that you'll be the only one who'll get killed.

The young man whose funeral we're attending wasn't wearing his seat belt. While I'm on a safety kick about wearing helmets for riding, maybe I should be a nag about seat belts, too. Which is not to put the blame on the young man. He might have died anyway, seat belt securely in place. The only thing that's for sure is if the elderly man hadn't crossed the center line, two little girls would still have their father.

Comments

[Liza's Eyeview]

sobering thoughts...

I think about my elderly mother in law right now. I feel like she shouldn't be driving anymore .. but I don't think she'll listen to us. I pray for her safety and safety of the people around her when she drives.

[SteveB]

It's tough. You want them to be independent, but at the same time, at some point the reaction times and judgement just aren't up to it anymore. It's tough when the kids have to be the parents to the parents.

[Angry]

Even though seatbelts are compulsory everywhere in Aus, you still hear of the occasional driver not wearing theirs. But of course there’s more to auto safety than that, like not speeding, driving to the conditions and of course staying on your own side of the road. Very sad.