Again!!? Happy Birthday to me!

Two days ago my friend Amber Kelly treated me to a pedicure down in Vernal for my birthday. Because JayDee had plans on my birthday we just barely got to get away and go down. It was such a wonderful day to get to be away from the kids all day (poor JayDee had them all!). Just the two of us went down and spent the day. A while ago I decided that I hate the way my fingernails always look so I also got myself a manicure. What pampering. It is a good thing my birthday only comes once a year. I really could get used to the pampering!! Afterwards we went out to lunch and then the boring grocery shopping. By the time we hit the road back home it was after 4 pm. We were just at the first switch back (for those of you who don't know it is at the very beginning of our trip up the mountain) when we found ourselves stuck behind a couple miles of traffic. We got there after a horrible accident had happened. A mom and a 7 month old baby were in an accident with a dump truck. The mom and baby had to be extricated from the car and then flown to Salt Lake for treatment. The mom didn't make it and the baby is still in critical condition. We waited there for about 15-20 minutes when we decided that we would take the only other way home. That was to go back to Vernal and then out through Diamond Mountain. It was an extra hour and a half before we got home. There are two reasons why I tell of this. The first is because of an horrible accident I was reminded once again that I am so lucky to be out here in the mountains. As we drove on the bumpy and twisty roads I was very grateful that we had a car that we knew would make it. And second, when I heard of the death of this mother and the seriousness of the child it made me realize that we can always be just a little bit more careful. This mom was going just a little too fast going around the corner and ended up in the other lane and hit the other truck head on. I don't know how many times I have been in a hurry to a doctor or dentist appointment or just in a hurry because I was tired of being in the car so I would speed up enough for me to think I wasn't going too fast. And more often than not I have the kids with me. I can promise that from now on the appointments are never more than the knowledge that I am doing all I can to make sure that our kids are safe. Never take things for granted. I bet this mom wishes that she could be around to see her child grow up and who knows how many other people she left behind because of her reason to go just a little faster than she should.