Good News, Bad News, Good News

And the good news is...the cast list was posted, and our kids all got leading parts!  Chicklet9 and Bantam12 are both double-cast as Von Trapp children--Marta and Friedrich.  This means they will play these parts in half the performances; in the other half, C9 is a Townsperson and B12 is a Party Guest.  So he will have to learn to waltz.  With a girl.  And wear an elegant suit.  He will be dashing, indeed.

And B16 is Captain Von Trapp!  He is so pleased, and eager for the challenge of a straight role.  He found his last role, as the comedic Little John in Robin Hood, to be almost too easy.  (Let's just say he and Little John have a lot in common.)  He has much in common with the Captain too; he's already used to ordering around his younger siblings off-stage, and now he will get to do it on-stage as well!  He is very good with kids, and he'll enjoy working with them in this show.

(The performances are March 1-4, local friends, but we don't know yet which performances will feature the Red Cast.  So don't rush to buy your tickets yet!  We'll let you know.)

The bad news is...I was in a car accident on Saturday, on my way to pick up Chicklet after her callback was finished.  I was heading north when the light turned yellow....and since I was going about 40 mph (under the 45 mph speed limit), and since there was still snow and ice on the roads in places, I kept going.  A southbound pickup truck waiting to turn left apparently had his eyes on the light but not on the traffic, and he began his left turn just as I entered the intersection.  I slammed on my brakes but had no time to stop.

My air bag cushioned me both from the sound and much of the impact of the crash.  I am sooo grateful for that air bag! Both of us drivers were okay, it seemed, and his passenger, a child in a car seat, was too.  What a mercy.

Almost 48 hours later now, I am sore all over. But my head and neck are better than my shoulders and ribcage, and I have pretty normal range of motion in my neck, able even to look over both shoulders, so I am better than I was after my other accident nearly three years ago.  It was a lower-speed accident and the air bag didn't deploy, so my body took the full shock that time.  (I really am grateful for that airbag!)

But I am heartsick about my beloved purple Prius.  I am so afraid that it's totaled.  Both airbags deployed, and it's turning 10 years old in 2012, with nearly 100,000 miles on it.  But it was still running after the accident, and surprisingly, it didn't appear too badly damaged.  I expected the whole front end to be completely crumpled, but it wasn't.  I think my brakes must have really slowed me down before impact.  So I still cling to some hope that the adjuster will find it worth repairing. It's a Toyota, and a hybrid, after all.  And it's my baby!

How life can change in an instant!  The remaining bit of "good news" that I am trying to soak up today is how every minute of life and health is a gift from God.  I am trying not to let my grief over my sweetheart car, that I may never drive again, overshadow the fact that my kids are not motherless and my husband is not a widower.  I am not crippled, hospitalized or in a wheelchair. I am trying not to let the financial concerns crowd out my gratitude for God's mercy on all three of us in the accident, and for the blessings of life and health.

I am reminded too, of the Advent truth that no one knows the day or the hour that Christ will return, and we should live as those prepared.  My heart echoes that Advent prayer from the first Sunday in Advent, that "when he shall appear, he may not find us sleeping in sin but active in his service and joyful in his praise."  And from the second Sunday in Advent, "when he comes again, we may be ready to greet him with joyful love and firm faith."

Joyful, active, serving, praising, loving, firm, faithful and joyful (again).

Lord, let it be so.