It seemed a bit complicated. Benjamin's appointment with the psychiatrist was smack in the middle of the day and as chance would have it the class was going out for pizza. So I met them at the parlor, and scooped him into my car. We passed a few people waiting for a bus, and I gave passing thanks for having wheels. As I was driving on the last leg of the journey, not fifty yards from the waiting room, we were blindsided by a car crossing in front of us. It ripped off my bumper and sent Benjamin into a fit. The other driver eventually came over to apologize, saying it was all his fault, and I called John. The police arrived, and I handed them documents while trying to calm Benjamin. Because the other driver had admitted fault, I let my guard down about trying to prove anything, and did not take pictures. The police were reassuring, and tried to assess whether Ben was alright. 

"Is this screaming normal?" she asked. 

"Yeah, kinda." I said. 

When John arrived we decided that the car was drivable, and having finished all the questions went to the appointment. Late, I admit. Ben was still yelling, and that may have contributed to an especially short wait time.

My heart began to deescalate after I took Ben back to school and John and I started calling insurance. The other driver had already reported it, so that was good. Except for the comment by the agent. 

"I see that the accident was your fault..."

"What?? No! He admitted that he pulled a u turn in front of me!" Now I was a mess. 

Fortunately John is made of different stock and maintained composure in the string of phone calls and explanations that clogged the next two hours. Hours, I might add, that had been spoken for in my schedule.  

I do not know how this will play out. But I do know that for the next few days I will be walking. It was a goal of mine, walking more, and this has added incentive to that lofty intention. 

Speaking of lofty, I watched a video taken from the back of an eagle. It was astonishing in that he or she was not frightened by the speed, or rocky outcrops. Soaring over cliffs was as effortless as sailing over soft grass, and I daresay just as enjoyable. For one brief second the camera captured the eagle's shadow. It felt like a reminder that the flight is not about me, and I am not well served to self obsess.

I wondered whether the eagle is given royalties. Paid in fish perhaps. 

The car will, no doubt, get fixed. Our mechanic has brought cars back from worse things than a shredded bumper. Insurance may or may not find me to blame. And in the meantime, I will get a bit of exercise. 

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts."- Isaiah 55