Reality Hits...Oh Deer

As I gaze out the window, all I see is rain, gray skies, and bare trees. Yup, I'm back in the Midwest.

While I'm super, super grateful that I'm blessed in the vacation realm, it's often very difficult to return. I *just* started relaxing and it was time to board the plane home. Upon arriving back home, I dove back into work for several hours, visited Jack's mom for dinner, then loaded my car with my weekly essentials: food, clean laundry, new tunes for the road, and a charged Blackberry.

I hit the road to my Chicagoland house. I was behaving well...no texting, no channel surfing, nothing. BAM! Ten minutes into my roadtrip, a large buck, complete with antlers, smashed into my driver's side fender/door/window, literally scaring me half to death. I flew into a hysterical fit of fear, immediately calling Jack to come help me because "I was in a wreck!"

He thought I said, "I broke my neck!"

So four minutes later, when Jack's car screeched to a halt next to me, he expected to find me bloodied and near death. At least that wasn't the case. While I was shaking beyond belief, I wasn't injured. The emotional and psychological scarring will far outlast the physical soreness I feel from the impact. The buck came out of nowhere, completely blindsided me, and really made me fear driving down darkened streets during mating season. [Shiver!]

The officer who quickly rescued me assured me I was lucky. He said that at the angle at which the buck hit, I was lucky his antlers didn't break through my door's glass! Can you imagine a huge buck's head, mere inches from your face when you're driving 45 m.p.h.? That's nightmare fodder! [Double Shiver!]

Regardless, it was not a pretty scene. The buck heavily smashed into the front fender, leaving half its fur behind. Then it sort of rolled over the door, scratching and denting everything in its path, before it finally flipped over the car (even scratching the roof and sunroof). It might have died; I don't even care. I'm not a venison connoisseur.

Thank GOODNESS for Jack. After learning that my neck was decidedly not broken, he sprang into action, helping me with all the police documentation. He took care of the insurance paperwork. He even gave me his car, took my wrecked car to the dealership for estimates, and obtained a borrowed car. This deer's escapades will cost nearly ten thousand dollars and two weeks in the shop. Sigh.

What a way to end vacation!