Oct 10, 2007

thankful

it seems like just the other day i was singing the
praises of my amazing husband.
today, i am thankful that he is still here to
be able to sing said praises to him.

he was on a club ride yesterday. in a pace line. a driver in a hummer came too close to the pack, close enough for my husband to be able to hit the windshield with his hand & yell "too close!" to the driver. the driver backed off, but then waited. waited for my husband to pull a little bit ahead of the group, when he made a very deliberate move to hit my husband & run him off the road. the driver & hummer just kept driving.

with the exception of a few scrapes & bruises, and a lot of lingering soreness, he is ok. there were other riders who could get a license plate number, who could help him & stay with him till help came. other riders who watched the whole dispicable act unfold and could relay the story to the police.

and so we spent much of the night in the hospital. just waiting. and waiting. and people watching. did you know that some people take the opportunity to clip their toenails while waiting in the er? once we got back to the actual er, and had a lovely waiting spot in the hallway, i saw all the hubbub surrounding the shouts of: "bleeder! we have a bleeder!" and "he's puking!" people run to your aid if you puke.

i told him he should start to throw-up, or maybe he should start bleeding from his head - maybe then they would pay attention to us. i toyed with the idea of pulling an Aurora from Terms of Endearment by banging on the desk & yelling "someone look at my husband! get him the xrays & catscan!". but i didn't. and instead my husband just watched me as i got icier and bitchier about the lack of action with every passing moment. and he, ever the level headed, gentle person that he is - said, i am still here. this could be worse. and as always - he is right. and so i instantly back down & stop glaring at everyone in the hallway. and sit with him & be happy that he is there.

we were in such a rush yesterday.
he, to get ready for the ride & get there on time.
me, to get my daughter ready for ballet & get there on time.
it was a jumble of where are my bike shorts? where's my jersey?
girls! we have to go! now!
i don't even think we said goodbye to each other ...
i usually say, have a good ride. i don't think i did.

it's a nice little reminder to always take a moment to say goodbye,
or to give a kiss.
no matter how busy you are.


it could have been so different.
i am so thankful it wasn't.

13 comments:

Nancy said...

Oh, so scary. I'm so sorry. But it sounds like everything is okay?

You sound like us, me impatient, he level-headed. What we would do without them? Glad you didn't find out.

RunToTheFinish said...

That's awful...though you make the ER sound far more amusing than I remember it being.

zanne said...

thanks nancy! yes. everything is indeed ok. its' a good combo - pairing the impatient with the level-headed! i come from a long line of impatient, crazy women. they are all married to very grounded, level headed men. lucky us!

Gotta Run..... said...

So any updates from the police?? What a jerk that Hummer guy is. So thankful that your hubby is fine!! What about the bike? Group rides are so much safer than a ride solo.

Thanks for the reminders on being to rushed and taking time to remember the important stuff.

Vickie said...

I'm thankful too! Glad to hear he is okay. It scared me thinking of it! I am much more aware now of how many people actually get hit by cars on bikes. And I hope the driver gets prosecuted and heavily fined and it goes on his driving record for a LONG time! The driver thought he was making a statement, but he needs to be taught a lesson.

Anonymous said...

I can't BELIEVE someone would do that. What the hell?? I hope he gets caught, but more than that I'm glad your husband is okay.

Andria said...

Ugh! Some people are such jerks! Glad he's doing okay though.

Unknown said...

My blood is boiling right now! Of course it was a F@#King Hummer. There's a ton of those A$$holes here in Seattle; they buy these friggin' gas guzzlers yet only drive them -- either alone or with just one passenger -- on the freeway.

I'm so glad to hear your husband is okay. That's just too scary.

(And I apologize if any of your readers are Hummer drivers. But only a little.)

Anonymous said...

OMG. I hope the police are taking the incident seriously. If that doesn't legally count as assault, it should.

You know, I talk a lot about how I can't swim and how that's going to be a problem for me if I decide to try a triathlon, but honestly my bigger concern is that I am, justifiably, I think, terrified to bike around here because there are SO many distracted/ drunk/ high/ cognitively challenged/ aggressive to the point of reckless/ road raging drivers around here that I'm sure I'd eventually get hit. We have several bike fatalities here every year and frankly I'm surprised there aren't more.

I am so sorry that that happened to your husband, and very relieved to know that he's OK. Good for his riding buddies for taking care of him and for getting the driver's information1

Tall Girl Running said...

Oh, Suzanne. :-( No wonder I kept thinking about you the other day.

MiaStella said...

After that I am a bit iffy about rides on river road. We shall see how tomorrow am ride goes. Get e. back in the saddle so we can be ready to bike around Columbus!

zanne said...

that's the plan! getting back on the horse tomorrow.

Laurel said...

ARRRGGG!!!!

That makes me SO angry. People are such idiots!

I'm glad that your husband is ok. And that is gross about the toenail clippings btw.