Have you ever “fallen asleep at the wheel?” I am sure you have heard it as an expression. And as such, we have all done so in some area of our lives. It happens when we ignore signals (often unintentionally) and things careen out of our control.
But yesterday falling asleep at the wheel became literal for me and Solomon, who was snuggly packed into the back seat.
We were driving home after doing a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) presentation together in Lavonia in the morning, followed by time with a dear friend, Robin, over her delicious soup and some business work.
Yes, I fell asleep at the wheel while going around 55 -60 mph. I felt a wave of sleepiness come over me but thought I could make it home.
I honestly don’t remember if I was in the passing lane when I fell asleep but I was certainly crossing over those rumble strips when I woke up!
No one got hurt. And I could drive my car home after the tow truck got me out of some pretty deep snow . Amazing.
Once I hit the rumble strips the car started gliding over the top of the snow before landing squarely in the space between the west bound lanes and the east bound lanes of route 104. I was still facing east. And I was going nowhere. The snow was deep enough that I could not open the front doors on either side.
Of course this happened in plain sight when everyone was coming home from work and I was about 12 miles from my home. Friends and neighbors saw me and were worried. But there was no way to get to me. I did a lot of texting to let people know I was okay and that Tom, the police, and the tow truck were on their way!
When the policeman arrived the first thing I called out to him (since he could not get through the snow to my door) was, “I fell asleep! I am one lucky girl!”
And I was incredibly blessed by the genuine kindness and concern of both the policeman and the tow truck driver and ALL who knew of my plight. Tom kept a watchful and kind eye on me all evening, but I was fine.
THINGS TO PONDER . . .
I was reminded once again when we are in crisis we need to be surrounded by many different kinds of people and resources. It takes all of us to help each other on this planet. And all we have to do is use the skills that we have.
Also, I am pleased to share that this may be the first time in my life when I can say that my gratitude ( a positive emotion) far exceeded my embarrassment ( a negative and shame-based feeling). I could not have been more grateful to see that no one got hurt and I missed a pole nearby.
So, rather than mucking in shame and guilt, I am mining for the gold in it. Life lessons are like gold for our hearts and minds. When we come up close and personal with what really matters (life and love) all things change in perspective.
(However, had I hurt someone from ignoring the signals, I must admit that would require a complete overhaul of my psyche.) I was spared a tragedy.
A lesson here that likely applies to all of us is that all too often we ignore the warnings of what to pay attention to … both in ourselves and in our children. We push for perfection, sometimes at great risk of unnecessary suffering for our minds, bodies, and souls.
Think rumble strips!
They are life savers, you know. We all have hit those strips for one reason or another on our road trips and they are always a wake up call.
Are there some pre-rumble-strip warnings in your lives that you ignore? Once you hit those strips, things are at risk.
So …. gratitude,
a wake-up call to pay attention to warnings (before you hit rumble strips that yell at you),
and a reminder that it takes all of us to help each other on this planet ….all are nuggets of simple wisdom for this our day to …
play in the pastures, 
Margie and Solomon
4 thoughts on “Asleep at the Wheel”
Margie! I am so relieved to hear that you are alright! There are no other words to say! I really liked this week’s Wednesday Wisdom. It applies to everyone and in any situation. Sometimes we ignore the warning signs even if they are obvious because sometimes its easier to not admit them and face them and then do something to change them. Your accident was not quite like that though. But I am glad you are safe and no one was hurt!
Hi Jen! Thank you so much for your kind comment and for your wise words. It sure did bring this home to me too. I think you are so right when you say sometimes it seems easier to not admit those warnings and not face them. Sometimes we don’t want to because we don’t even know how to change things. We feel trapped. That is where the idea that we need each other comes in because we are all on a shared journey. 🙂 Great to hear from you!
Margie, how is it that you always find such creative metaphors to help us navigate life?? The “rumble strips” will stick with me as will the pre-rumble strip warnings. And the message to use the skills we have to help others on this planet is powerful, too. You certainly do that for so many of us. Thank you. And, I’m so very grateful that these lessons came to us through an uninjured you!
Thank you so much! I can only hope that my experience can be useful as a reminder for all of us. Thank you for appreciating the power of story and metaphor to connect us to life”s lessons both small and great.