'Just because it's not nice, doesn't mean it's not miraculous'-Terry Pratchett

Last night around 9ish Charlie and I were driving home from my friend's house. I have a cold, and I was feeling really horrible; my asthma was acting up a bit, and my nose was all runny. It was a dark night, and there was a spider on (thankfully) the outside of the windshield of my car that was just a bit distracting.

I was just approaching an intersection when a dog darted out in front of me. My brain went 'aaaah! Dog!' and I swerved to the right and slammed on the brakes as I chanted, 'please don't let me hit it, please don't let me hit it.'

I saw the dog turn and race back to the sidewalk, and, my heart pounding, I pulled into a nearby parking lot. I needed to let my heart get down to normal speed, and I wanted to go find the dog; to make sure it was okay and to find its home if I could.

The owners of the dog were in their driveway, hugging and scolding the puppy - it was obviously a puppy, and very excited to be outside. Some sort of a boxer, he jumped and wagged and licked and was fine, thank goodness. I spoke to the people a few seconds, said I just wanted to make sure it was okay. They apologised, and thanked me for stopping to check that the dog was okay and apologising again. I gave the dog a pat and we left. Poor Charlie was a bit shaken too.

It occurred to me that it could have been a really horrible moment in my life if just one little thing had been different; if I hadn't seen the dog on time, if someone was behind me when I slammed on the brakes; if the spider had been on the inside of the car...

But I saw the dog on time, no one was behind me, and the spider legged it, I think, when we were talking to the dog's owners. Nothing horrible happened, except experiencing a rush of adrenaline which actually helped my asthma.

Kind of a miracle, right?

'Just because it's not nice, doesn't mean it's not miraculous'-Terry Pratchett

Last night around 9ish Charlie and I were driving home from my friend's house. I have a cold, and I was feeling really horrible; my asthma was acting up a bit, and my nose was all runny. It was a dark night, and there was a spider on (thankfully) the outside of the windshield of my car that was just a bit distracting.

I was just approaching an intersection when a dog darted out in front of me. My brain went 'aaaah! Dog!' and I swerved to the right and slammed on the brakes as I chanted, 'please don't let me hit it, please don't let me hit it.'

I saw the dog turn and race back to the sidewalk, and, my heart pounding, I pulled into a nearby parking lot. I needed to let my heart get down to normal speed, and I wanted to go find the dog; to make sure it was okay and to find its home if I could.

The owners of the dog were in their driveway, hugging and scolding the puppy - it was obviously a puppy, and very excited to be outside. Some sort of a boxer, he jumped and wagged and licked and was fine, thank goodness. I spoke to the people a few seconds, said I just wanted to make sure it was okay. They apologised, and thanked me for stopping to check that the dog was okay and apologising again. I gave the dog a pat and we left. Poor Charlie was a bit shaken too.

It occurred to me that it could have been a really horrible moment in my life if just one little thing had been different; if I hadn't seen the dog on time, if someone was behind me when I slammed on the brakes; if the spider had been on the inside of the car...

But I saw the dog on time, no one was behind me, and the spider legged it, I think, when we were talking to the dog's owners. Nothing horrible happened, except experiencing a rush of adrenaline which actually helped my asthma.

Kind of a miracle, right?