Scary
On Saturday night Ryan, Fiona, and I left Amy's and Alex's apartment. We were riding our bikes and Fiona was in her car seat strapped into a trailer behind Ryan's bike. As we rode out in the righthand lane a car made a right turn into the lefthand lane. Except the SUV didn't go into the left lane, she drove into the right lane and stayed there. Even though we have lights flasihng on our bikes and have the right to be there. Ryan yelled for me to get over and then took off furiously on his bike trying to get him and Fiona out of the way. Since I was behind them I saw the car, at the last second, realize that they were there, swerve out of the way, and then swerve back into the right lane and almost hit me because the driver was looking at Ryan and Fiona. The driver missed Ryan and Fiona by about two feet because Ryan rode his bike faster than I have ever seen him ride and missed me by about a foot.
Ryan, at this point, dropped his bike and starts chasing the SUV. I honestly thought he was going to pull the person out of their car and beat them before he realized what he was doing. He had the crazy eyes, what with nearly seeing his daughter and then wife hit by a car driving on the wrong side of the road. The SUV stopped a few feet away from us and I yelled for Ryan to go and check on Fiona, while I went ant talked to the driver. The woman was sitting in her car shaking and all she could say at first was, "I'm so sorry. I didn't see you. I'm so sorry." I told her that none of us were hurt, only shaken up. I told her that I understand that bike lights aren't quite as bright as car headlights, but they are there. There are a lot of people in our neighborhoods that ride bikes or walk. You have to be more careful. By this time the adrenaline is really starting to hit me and I start shaking. The lady's response was, "I'm so sorry, but I just moved into this area." My response to that was okay, but you have to be more careful. You have to pay more attention. At this point a much more calm Ryan came up with Fiona and talked to the lady for a few more minutes. I think their conversation was probably similar to mine with her, but he also admonished her to be more careful.
It is scary to realize that no matter how safe I am with my baby there are a lot of other people and things in the world that I can't control. It is scary that a person not paying attention for 20 seconds can cause such panic. But I know that I can't let myself think about that a lot or I would go completely bonkers. I also can't let the fact that bad things happen keep me from living a full and happy life.
Ryan, at this point, dropped his bike and starts chasing the SUV. I honestly thought he was going to pull the person out of their car and beat them before he realized what he was doing. He had the crazy eyes, what with nearly seeing his daughter and then wife hit by a car driving on the wrong side of the road. The SUV stopped a few feet away from us and I yelled for Ryan to go and check on Fiona, while I went ant talked to the driver. The woman was sitting in her car shaking and all she could say at first was, "I'm so sorry. I didn't see you. I'm so sorry." I told her that none of us were hurt, only shaken up. I told her that I understand that bike lights aren't quite as bright as car headlights, but they are there. There are a lot of people in our neighborhoods that ride bikes or walk. You have to be more careful. By this time the adrenaline is really starting to hit me and I start shaking. The lady's response was, "I'm so sorry, but I just moved into this area." My response to that was okay, but you have to be more careful. You have to pay more attention. At this point a much more calm Ryan came up with Fiona and talked to the lady for a few more minutes. I think their conversation was probably similar to mine with her, but he also admonished her to be more careful.
It is scary to realize that no matter how safe I am with my baby there are a lot of other people and things in the world that I can't control. It is scary that a person not paying attention for 20 seconds can cause such panic. But I know that I can't let myself think about that a lot or I would go completely bonkers. I also can't let the fact that bad things happen keep me from living a full and happy life.