Putting things in perspective

Babies are good for all sorts of things. But, after this week, I have decided that the thing they do very best is to put life into perspective for the rest of us. Here’s what brought me to this conclusion: A week or so back, a series of crazy storms hit Atlanta. Nothing out of the ordinary for a southern summer really. Or, at least, that’s what I thought until I got The Phone Call.

It was Tom telling me that the car had been totaled, flooded, actually. A flash flood had apparently come out of nowhere on the freeway and gotten the best of our car and about five others. When I heard the news, I … uh, in the interest of keeping this family-friendly, let’s just say I was upset … and distraught, and angry, and a million other depressing adjectives you can think of.

Although my car wasn’t brand new, it meant a lot to me. My grandmother and grandfather had saved up money since I was born to put towards my college education. As life would have it during, during my senior year of college while on an internship, I found myself in another state without a functioning car. And so, the money they had saved for all those years bought my car, while I then paid off my college tuition after working for a year.

Although I was never one to call my car “my baby,” it wasn’t just any ol’ car to me either; it was much more than a means of transportation. It was a tangible symbol of my Nana and Pappaw’s hard work, sacrifice, selflessness and love. In addition, it was also our only vehicle.

So, when I got the call about the flood, I was flooded with all sorts of emotions and thoughts, which in turn, came flooding out. It was a tense couple of days between me and Tom, but it was actually my sweet little guy (coupled with conviction from the Lord) that finally brought the battle to an end.

I began to think about how thankful I was that the incident happened while Jacob was in sunny and DRY California. His car seat was ruined, but he was safe and sound. Sure, we still have to deal with all of the repercussions that come with dealing with a totaled car over the next few weeks, which I’m sure won’t be barrels of fun. But, in the midst of it all, you can bet I will be reminding myself that at least our sweet baby is totally healthy, safe, and happy. And, in the end, that’s what really what matters.