Yea verily I say unto Thee, less than one hour after my last post at the FOF, I had my first almost accident. As I look back at it now, there were so many factors of my non-collision that could've made the situation infinitely worse, but the Lord was watching over me.

It all began when I left FOF to head home. I needed gas, so I got off the first exit to search for a station. Unfortunately, I unwittingly chose Seaway Blvd. the Boeing/Fluke heartland. Whoops. It took me a few no tresspassing signs and a bright yellow "no outlet" to get the picture. I turned around and proceeded to get back on I-5 via 526 east. The dark sky had produced gusts of wind and buckets of rain, so the roads were a bit slick to say the least. As I got on the onramp of 526 east, I was busy considering which Everett exit would be best to take and didn't notice the yellow speed warning signs. I was probably going 40, which on a nice day would be no big deal to slow down on, but by the time I realized I wasn't going to make the corner, I had to push the brakes hard to avoid smashing right into a barrier. The road was a two lane (both going the same way, of course), so I swerved away from the side (I was on the outer edge). The car was still slipping and sliding without the traction, so I had to turn it sharply to the right. This accomplished a 180 degree turn and I slid toward the guard rail next to the original barrier that had forced the madness in the first place. Facing the complete opposite direction on the ramp and sliding toward the only thing between me and a long sloping hill with trees, the only thing I could think was "No, no no! Stop... please don't hurt the car!" About 1 ft from the door, God decided to grant my request. I was perfectly parked in the tiny shoulder, barely sticking out into the lane. I sat in shock before pulling forward to get my tail end out of the road. Cars whipped passed as I began crying. It was a miraculous ending, but I had a hard decision. Not only was my prepaid phone low on cash, the battery was almost dead. The easy choice was to simply turn the car around, but the cars whipping around the corner were deadly obstacles. If I went out at the wrong time, it could be a head-on collision. How to get up to speed soon enough before the cars behind me would be forced into the same hydroplaning situation. I called my mom tearfully and promised to text "ok" if I managed to figure it out on my own before turning the phone off to conserve power. I then backed up a bit to give myself the maximum space for the turn-around. I noticed a car parked further down the hill and a man stepping out. I rolled down my passenger window halfway to talk with him. He offered to stand at the center of the curve and wave to me when it was safe to go. I thanked him and did exactly as our plan suggested. I still had the problem of needing gas. I took the mall exit and found another reason to feel naive. Apparently gas stations don't take checks... and that's all I had. The lady suggested I go to Fred Meyer and offered coffee and tea. Unfortunately, I don't like either all that much, so I declined and drove away. I found an ATM and used my bank card to get some cash. Stinking $2 fees just 'cause it's not my bank. But, hey, I was willing to pay $2 to get home away from the nightmare. Another issue arose because I had never filled up the car by myself. (I know guys especially are reading that in disbelief, but I've only fueled planes alot... sorry. Since I don't pay for the gas, I've never done it!) I was clear-minded enough to shakily enter the building and say $20 for pump 8 please. I fueled up the car a little more than 3/4 full and headed back for the freeway. I'm very glad I remembered to ask the lady for directions, there weren't any I-5 signs where I was to turn. I finally made it home and collapsed happily into the chair after a big hug from my mom. I felt terrible, though, because my dad drove to find me because the text message saying "ok" was never sent. I apparently only had .03 on the phone and texts are .05. Go figure.

The day did have a happy ending, though. I was alive, the car was perfectly fine, and my mom and I had fun at a Haggen event and going to craft bazaars. At Haggen, we sampled food, I got an apple pie chai drink and even won a dinner. The loudspeaker called for the first person to tell them the price of a German chocolate cake. We happened to be in the bakery and Mom yelled $6.99 and told me to run. I took off, muttering "I feel retarded!" as I sprinted to the front. But hey, we won a whole chicken, mash potatoes, stuffing, and squash for the effort. Not bad, huh?

So, I'm very grateful to be sitting here tonight typing this blog. I want to do so much more for my Lord and Savior before I go. There are just so many more things I'd love to experience. It was a perfect reminder that I'm not invincible and I don't know when God will call me home. Just in case I die tonight in my sleep... "I love you!" (to anyone who knows me and calls me friend) Don't waste any second of the life you have been given.