After I posted yesterday, I kept having some really creepy thoughts in the back of my mind. I kept thinking, "What if things went differently this morning with that accident, and what if I've gone crazy and made up an alternate outcome to what really happened? What if I wake up tomorrow and discover that Willis is really gone and everything that happened was completely fabricated by my mind?"
Even when Willis came home and even when we spent the evening together, I still had those nagging thoughts. I was almost afraid to go to sleep (except for the fact that I was utterly exhausted).
Willis told me last night that yesterday is most certainly the most scared he has ever been in his whole life. I told him that it may be the case for me as well. He asked me what it was that scared me, and I told him, "When the phone rang at 6:45 a.m., I KNEW something was wrong."
That was what scared me—the ringing phone so shortly after he left in such nasty weather. It wasn't so much anything else after that. I was terrified that he might be calling me to say that he was seriously hurt or worse—to say goodbye. I was pretty weak when I bolted to the phone. That is the worst fear I have ever known.
What's bizarre, though: we were watching an episode of Star Trek last night that completely encompassed the nagging fears I was having. It is from the final season of the series. Worf had some kind of mishap caused by Giordi's visor that sent him into alternate realities. He kept waking up in different realities, finding that everything he ever knew about his life was different. It was really, really creepy. (And yes: creepier than the fact that we are still watching the seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation.)
I woke up today, and I'm pretty sure I heard Willi get up, gather trash and recycling, and come in to tell me (and kiss me) goodbye. So, I'm pretty sure I'm not crazy. I called him awhile ago to be sure that he made it to work, and he was on the other end of the phone. So, I think I'm okay.
Without further ado, though, I need to share these photos with you:
These are all photos from the wreck that Willi took on his cell phone.
And these are all photos that I took last night, except for the one where she's screaming in her car seat. That was from the day before, when I took her to the grocery. These photos also help me prove to myself that I'm not crazy. So, that's good.
Gotta go! We have a date with the Cooks today!
This morning at about 6:45, I got a call from Willi while Nora and I were still somewhat snoozing. He had already left for work after asking, "Are you going to go anywhere today? 'Cause I might want to take the Pacifica. It's pretty nasty outside."
I, of course, said, "Go ahead and take the Pacifica. I don't need to go anywhere today."
On the other end of the phone, I hear, "There's been an accident."
Immediately, I jolt awake and ask the question everyone asks, "Are you okay?"
"Yes! I'm actually one of the lucky few who is completely unscathed in this whole thing," he says this while doing that "I can't believe this just happened" laugh that he does.
He went on to tell me all of the details that involved him momentarily thinking he was going to die. He talked about how he was able to slow down enough to gain control and drive off of the interstate onto an upward grade of the Johnson Road overpass to get out of the way. He talked about all of the cars and semis sliding into other cars and semis around him. Apparently there was a 15-passenger van about 30 feet in front of him that he hopped out of the car to go help, and he almost got hit by a car while he was on foot. He said the car was moving slow enough, he was able to hop out of the way. I guess this car that almost hit him slid into that van, and the van had been hit a few times already. It was full of people, and it was pretty mangled. They were all okay, though, amazingly.
(I did scold him about getting out of the car because we had heard awhile back that -like- two guys in one week—separate cases—died because they got out of their cars and got hit on the interstate in similar situations to this one.)
He also mentioned that he was looking at something like a dozen semis and about 20-25 cars. The news later confirmed 30 cars and a dozen semis.
In fact, here's the news report with a video. Willi's car can actually be seen on the video. It's at the very beginning of the wreckage footage. He's off the road to the right of all the wreckage, just before the overpass. He's in a black SUV. Check it out. Wreck footage.
It's amazing that everyone came out of that alive. There are some injuries, but I understand that none of them are life-threatening.
Willi is still sitting there waiting for the wreckage to be cleared so he can leave. He's been there since 6:45ish this morning, and he's still there at about 10:45 a.m. That's a good, long time to be sitting in an idling car in five degree weather. I'm glad he has a sandwich.
I will now, most likely, be more stressed out on snowy mornings than I previously was. That's no good.
It's not even noon, and already, this day seems so long.
Oop. Willis JUST called at 10:46 a.m. to tell me that he thinks he can move now. So . . . four hours later, he gets to head to work.
