A Colorado accident

Our family spent the last week on a trip to the Colorado mountains for spring break (I know, I know, what kind of crazies head INTO the cold and snow for spring break).

I'll tell you more about the trip later on, but for the moment I want to share one little snippet of something that happened while we were there.

One day while we were driving through Grand Junction on the way back to our condo we witnessed a car accident.  One car ran a red light and sliced into the side of another car which was trying to turn left.  It was ugly, yes, but not too nasty.  No one was really hurt, just shaken up and sore.

We were driving up to the red light in the opposite direction when the accident happened and Josh immediately coasted to the shoulder of the road, turned to look at me and said, "I have to go."

I nodded because I know this man.  

Now, he has first aid training.  He was a certified first responder for a while.  Additionally, he has a lot of experience in controlling situations and managing problems (work in event security and as a high school teacher will do that to you).  He also feels a heady duty to follow the law and since we had witnessed this tangle first hand we knew we would need to chat with the police.

But if you knew him like I do you would also know that his jumping from our car and sprinting across the street to assess the situation and help in any way he could was not something he did because of training or experience or duty.

This man simply cannot sit by and watch while others are in need without trying to help.  He has a deep seeded desire to assist and to pull others up.  He wants to fix problems and soothe fears and feelings, it is just part of who he is.  It is in his genes.

And so, I happily sat on the side of the road singing songs and eye spying with my kidlets while I watched my husband jump in and take charge until more help arrived.  He soothed the fears of the shaking college girl who had been hit.  He tried (unsuccessfully) to guide her in moving her car out of traffic and to the side of the road (it was a little too mashed for that).  He calmed the panicky driver of the other car and reminded him that vehicles can be fixed, that's not always the case with people, so there was much relief that no one was seriously injured.  He updated medics when they arrived and gave statements to the police.  He was pretty amazing.

He's like that.

I feel very lucky to have him.