Not sure how this happened, but today we start week 6 of this school year. It seems this year will go by even faster than last year. As I look back at week 5, the incident that jarred me the most was witnessing the aftermath of a horrific wreck when I drove to pick up my kids from art class.
Cardinal flower we spotted in our neighborhood.
It must have happened a few minutes before I got there. Several police cars, two ambulances, and one fire truck took care of the accident and the victims. Two cars had collided at the intersection of Glades Rd. and Hwy. 321 in Gatlinburg.
They had blocked all lanes of traffic in the direction I needed to take. I found a parking lot and walked about two city blocks to get my kids, after texting the teacher. The kids had finished their class and sat on a couch, looking out the window at the drama. Thankfully, they did not see details.
Sober Scene
We walked past the scene to the car and by then the emergency personnel had removed the gore. The shattered glass, the driver’s door completely yanked out, the deployed air bags hanging pitifully from the ceiling, everything shocked us. A reminder that life can change very quickly for all of us.
I suppose the other really important lesson for the week is to keep up with the Outdoor Hour Challenge. We are on Day 7. I am delighted by the wonderful things we are studying about nature in our backyard. The walks through the neighborhood do not have to take longer than 15 minutes. We still discover all sorts of plants, insects, and animals and are learning to notebook about the experience.
