A Wake-Up Call Asleep At The Wheel

Yesterday at about 2 pm I was driving my month-old beautiful Audi A3 home from a gym workout when I fell asleep at the wheel and woke up to a mailbox crashing into my windshield. It was shocking and dreamlike. Nobody was killed and I did not die, but somebody might have. I jolted to a stop less than an inch away from a tree.

Now I keep thinking of what might have been. I could have killed a mother wheeling her baby in a carriage. Or an elderly couple out for a walk. Or a cute little doggie. Or a jogger. Or maybe two or three joggers. Or myself. 

Instead I broke somebody's mailbox. 

Instead of sitting at my kitchen table writing this I could be on life-support in an ICU. Paralyzed. A vegetable for the rest of my life. 

Instead I am awaiting for the body shop to call and give me an estimate for the damage. 

I am also depressed, alarmed, sobered, scared, tearful and stunned. After driving for 64 years without ever having an accident, I can't say that anymore.

Moral of the story: If you are very tired, don't drive. Also, if you are alive today, thank your lucky stars.