“Someday”

We loaded into the truck, after wrapping up my workday, and headed toward the center of town. Easy drive, and so familiar that it almost slips into boring. At one of the first stoplights as we got into town, we pulled up and waited for the lights to change.

At the left turn arrow kicking on, as soon as that line started to move, the car to my left (also in a non-turn lane, like us), took off through the remaining red light.

At this, I looked up to confirm the light was still red, turned to my family and commented on how “that guy” just ran the red, and looked back at his tail lights as he cleared the far side of the intersection.

Then a jeep slammed into the back end of our truck.

I looked up, after the impact, wondering if I had missed the light finally changing to green.

No. The red lights still stared down at us.

I checked on the family, called 911 (they don’t bother to dispatch unless the involved vehicles are incapable of being driven, which turned out not to be the case), then spoke to the girl driving the jeep that had hit us, to be sure she was alright and coordinate us both pulling off to the side at the next safe location.

Just another hiccup, but a great reminder of how change can come to you at a time and from a direction that you do not necessarily expect.

This morning, a bit tight and slightly sore, I found myself with a few hours by myself. A chance to sip a cup of coffee, sit in a comfortable chair, and watch a sunrise.

Is it the reminder of how tenuous things can be that makes those moments all the more a gift? Most likely, but at the same time, I think I would have found this morning beautiful, even if that had not happened.

What follows are my favorite moments in the course of the sunrise…