February 20, 2009

I'm just curious, has anyone else ever said anything like this to someone?

“You better not leave mad; I could get hit by a bus today and then you'd feel bad that you never had a chance to apologize.”

OR

“Life is too short to sweat the small stuff…I could get hit by a bus crossing the street today and you'd be sorry that you let the little things make you mad.”

Yes? No? Maybe? Okay, I wouldn't say this now, but I think I have used a version or two of these phrases in the past.  (I've since learned that laying a guilt trip on someone doesn't do anyone any good.)

So, the reason I even bring that up is because today, I almost got hit by a bus! Seriously!

Here's what happened. It's a sunny, beautiful, brisk morning. I'm running down a hill in the bike lane facing oncoming traffic, while listening to some great music on my iPod. (I always face oncoming traffic because I've got my music up pretty loud and I don't want to be unaware of traffic coming up behind me.)

So, I'm singing along, (la dee da dee da), thinking to myself how great of a time I'm having on my run. Then, I see a bus up ahead coming up the hill. (I don't move yet, because I assume if bikers have the right of way in a bike lane, then runners should, too, right?) Well, obviously the bus driver didn't think so.

I don't know if he was just toying with me to see if I could jump to the curb before getting hit, or if he honestly wasn't paying attention, but he suddenly comes into the bike lane to get ready to make a right turn. If I hadn't jumped to the curb, well, who knows!

Not a great way to start the day when you see one of these barreling straight towards you!

I'm still analyzing this incident to figure out what I'm supposed to learn from it. Is it something as simple as “Don't run in the bike lane, dummy!” OR something deeper than that.

For months now, I've been trying to wake up every morning and take a few minutes before starting my busy day to say some gratitude prayers and really reflect on all our blessings. Maybe this was just another reminder to not take anything for granted and appreciate every moment of every day.

Thank you to my guardian angels, again!

~LilSis