Angels?

Granted, my kid's guardian angels work overtime some days. Sierra's was especially busy between the years of 2 and 4. She was the one that would climb on the table, strip and dance running very close to one edge and back to the other. Or she would manage to climb up and pull the butcher knives out of the knife block at the very back far corner of the counter top, or she liked to start the blender up and make a little honey and pepper smoothie. Emily, Tim, Savanna and Ethan have all had their moments...but once in awhile, you know, the angels have to call in back up.

Yesterday, it snowed...like it has just about every day since it became Spring. Yes the weather got stuck in some unnatural time machine and threw us back to January 10th at the season change. And, when it snows...my driveway which faces north and sits at a 38 degree angle (give or take a few degrees--see the not-so-steep bottom of the driveway here bottom picture on the right)gets snowy...and it doesn't melt. And when it snows and thaws for a couple of days in a row it gets icy and slippery and in short treacherous.

I had taken the big kids to school and had parked my van at the top of the hill, parking brake intact as always. Ethan was shoeless so I carried him in the house while Savanna negotiated getting out the driver's side passenger door. She was just climbing over the last hurdle to get out of the door as I dropped Ethan off inside. To my horror the car suddenly slid down the driveway. Somehow, miraculously, it stopped at the sidewalk rather than rushing across the street to the neighbors. I screamed, Savanna froze. As it stopped she climbed out with a scared look on her face. I made sure she was alright then we re-parked the car and went inside.

That's when it hit me. Savanna was probably 15 seconds and maybe a foot away from climbing out of the car. Had she been doing that when the car slid she undoubtedly would have been slung under the car where she would have either been seriously injured or even killed. Additionally, the car should not have stopped where it did. The front half of the car was still at a serious angle and despite having the parking brake on it was not a natural way to stop.

I started to shake, then cry, then dry heave. I was inches away from losing my baby, my girl, my sweetheart. I literally shook and cried for more than half an hour. It was a involuntary, yet natural physical reaction to the situation. I have never before experienced quite that feeling. You always have the thought that 'things like that' don't happen to me. But they could.

Apparently it was time for another reminder, a wake up call, a scary nudge from beyond...remember the things that are important. Don't let them pass you by.

If the question is...Do angels exist?

My unequivocal answer is...Yes!