And so it goes...

Waiting for our van repairs has been excruciating.   It's summer and the road beckons.  Our accident happened in early July, and now it is mid August, with no end in sight for when our van will be ready to roll.  Repair parts needed to be sent from Germany and when they arrived there were items missing.  Whether that was because the shipper failed to ship something, or the body works place missed ordering something, we'll never know.  It doesn't matter.  The bottom line is we are still waiting.  And so it goes...

The damage to our van from a slow moving accident in heavy traffic was pretty extensive.  I hate to think about a fast moving accident.  I won't!  We incurred no engine damage, but the radiator and air conditioning were done in.  The airbags ejected.  The body crunched.  The seat belts sprung.  All in all, the bill will be about $12,000.   And so it goes…

Need I mention how grateful we are for insurance. 

Our beautiful, but seriously damaged van

Thistle off to the automobile hospital

Soon after the accident I couldn't even look at these photographs they were so disturbing.  The pain is fading as perspective sets in.  We were not hurt.  The person hit by us was not hurt.  No ambulances.  No flashing-light trip to the hospital.  No deaths.  No funerals.  The van wasn't totaled.

Where our thinking is these days is, what if we'd crashed in Timbucktoo?  Ratty motel, no body shop, unknown mechanic and, if injuries, unknown doctors and a questionable hospital.  Perhaps even a hostile disposition to foreign cars or RVers. Two months later we'd still be wandering the lonely streets wondering when we'd get out of this place of bad food.

Having our first accident sucked but at least we were close to home.  Close to a body shop highly recommended by our mechanic.  Close to a mechanic we trust and who is familiar with our Sprinter.  Close to family and friends.   And, hey, that first awful scratch is out of the way.

And so it goes...

~~~

"Shit happens, and it's awful, but it's also okay.  We deal with it because we have to."

  Kurt Vonnegut