Thirty nine years ago on the Friday before spring break, I was hit by a car.  This was long before the cell phone.  The accident was my fault.  I was too young to cross a busy street alone, but had also tired of calling my dad to escort me back and forth across the street.  As I crossed the street, I got sidetracked by a dead rabbit in the middle of the road.  A young woman couldn’t stop in time to avoid hitting me.   

Eleven years ago, as I drove down a busy street in Oak Park Illinois, a 10 year old boy dashed in front of my car.  There was no way to avoid hitting him.  It happened in an instant, tossed over the hood of my car.  I don’t know the full extent of his injuries and probably never will.     

Accidents really do happen in threes.  This weekend as my daughter played at the park across the street from our house, one of her best friends, a precious little gift of a girl,  was hit by a car.   This was followed by…ambulance, hospital stay, skull fracture, panic and tears from friends and family, worry, xrays, eye exams and bad hospital food.  It could have been so much worse.  Not to get all Jonathan Edwards on you, but I was reminded this time, like the time before that…that life can change in an instant. 

Please, remind your children to use the crosswalk, be an example of that rule, and as a driver, pay attention. 

I worry that the fourth time I won’t be so lucky.