Last night, at 11:30pm, I received the call that parents of teenagers dread. - "Mom, we've been in a car accident. Everyone is fine. We are on Wootton Parkway near Lakewood. Can you come get us?" Connor was riding home from the MoCo Fair with some friends and the mother of one of the young men when the accident happened.
I picked up my keys, tossed a sweatshirt over my pajamas and headed out the door. I only had a five minute drive and I was proud of myself for staying calm.
As I approached the crash site - I saw the car on the wrong side of the road, facing the wrong direction, the windshield shattered on the passenger side, the passenger side tire and front quarter panel completely wrecked. I thought as I pulled up - how can they be okay?
The first things out of my mouth - "Are you all okay? Who hit their head on the windshield?" And then I counted heads. Five young people and one adult. In a Toyota Camry.
Luckily, there were no serious injuries. No one hit their head on the windshield. The police came. And the parent who was
driving explained that she had lost control of the car and hit a
concrete bus stop and its accompanying sign.
I gathered up four of the five boys and drove them back to our neighborhood. Once in the car, I asked for more details. And then I told them that in the future - they are NEVER to get into a car unless there is a seat belt for everyone. I made them understand that there were too many people in the car and that if it flipped over when she lost control - the accident would have been much worse. I told Connor that if I had known how many people she was driving home, I wouldn't have said he could ride home with them. (NOTE to SELF: Add that question to the already exhaustive list of questions, I ask.)
I told all of the boys - if you all are going to hang out with my son, I need your word, that you will NEVER do this again. That you will not get into a car without enough seat belts for everyone. That you will NEVER get into a car with a stranger, with someone who has been drinking or seems otherwise impaired, or in any case where you feel uncomfortable or unsafe. I told them that even if they can't reach their own parents, they are to stay put, call me, and no matter where they are I will come get them. And I said the offer is good even if you are not with Connor. They all have my cell phone number now.
Here is the irony. As I was driving Connor to the Fair to meet his friends, I told him what I expected - he was to call me and let me know that he connected with his friends, he was to call me when they were leaving, and he was to call me when they arrived home (he had planned to sleep over with one of the boys). I was also giving him other advice about being safe while on the fairgrounds. And the whole time he was blowing me off, or rolling his eyes, and telling me that I worry too much.
I said, "It's such a pain in the ass to have a mother who loves you so much."
He said, "Yes. It is."
But, when we were home after the accident, he expressed his gratitude for a mother who loves him so much and for knowing that I would move heaven and earth to get to him when he needed me.
And I would.
