hitting parked cars

maybe i have eye trouble or maybe i just gravitate towards stationary objects; whatever the case may be, i seem to have a made a habit of hitting parked cars.

when i was about six or seven and learning how to ride a bike, i decided to take the dog for a walk AND ride my hot, pink bike with a cute basket and training wheels. well, when i was almost finished with the block, i lost control of the dog and the bike, and fell into a parked car, leaving quite a scratch. the people who owned this expensive-looking red sports car came out and preceded to tell this already petrified six or seven year old that the scratch looked pretty deep and that they'd need my phone number to talk to my parents about fixing their damaged vehicle. sobbing, i headed home and had never been on a bike since. (the people called a few days later to tell us that they bought some cheap over the counter stuff to take out the scratch. thanks for traumatizing a young girl, folks!)

let's fast-forward about ten years and put a new form of transportation in my hands-a car. as a matter of fact, a red car, but it was far from a sports car. one warm, sunny october day, this seventeen year old girl was driving home from school on a very familiar street. she felt something quite strange on her face, realized it was a bee, and got distracted by this bee. before she knew it, she had air bags in her face and her car horn was blaring. later, she found had she had hit four parked cars and flipped one in her red ford contour. that street is still no my favorite to drive on and i don't like to drive with the windows down around a lot of flowers.

moving on to present day. this girl decides it is about stinkin' time for her to overcome certain gross motor milestones of old and learn how to ride a stinkin' bike! so, on friday, she gets on a bike and starts to pedal. it's not too bad since it's been so long. but with the mantra in mind (speed+confidence=success) she finally rides for a few feet and around the traffic cirlce. sadly, this slight turn gets her off her grove and the terror of old comes back. a car is just to her right and panic sets in. before brakes can be applied, control is lost and she has fallen into the bronze mercedes. "$%#&*!" she screams (oh yes, swearing occured). who cared about the abrassions on her body, it was the potential car that was of prmary concern. her sister assured her that the rider's body had actually hit the car, not the bike, so unless there was a dent from impact, there should be nothing to worry about.

welp, now this girl (obviously me), is getting the hang of riding a bike. after a near fifteen year absense, it's good to be back ;). not to make this cheesy in anyway, but it is truly by the grace of God that i got on that bike again, or that no one was killed in the car accident, or that the scratch came out of the car fifteen years ago. may He be glorified through this milestone "accomplishment."

next goal: guitar.