"Does my driving make you nervous? I'll have you know I've never been in a wreck, sir"

These were the exact words that found themselves on my lips last night.  On my way back from working out with Jamie today, my history as a perfectly safe and sound driver ended.  Abrubtly.  I was coasting along Capital when this van butted itself into the lane obviously occupied by yours truely and smashed into me.  We both pulled onto the side road that the driver meant to turn onto in the first place.  I took a moment to scream, decide whether or not to cry (I didn't), and eventually open the door to get out of my car.  I couldn't.  My driver's side was hit so badly my door wouldn't open. 

I looked back at the driver, a woman in her late twenties/early thirties histerical and shaking, tears streaming down her face.  A woman who appeared to be her mother approached my car and told me that there were 3 children in the van.  I asked if they were okay, and yes, they were, and yes I was okay as well.  I climbed over the gear shift and got out of my car.  One of the little twin girls was still sleeping!  The mother managed an "I'm sorry" between tears.  I tried to calm her and asked her to get her insurance information.  At this point, I wasn't the least bit upset.  I was relieved that no one was hurt, and it was quite obviously her fault.  Oh, and a policeman happened to be parked just across the street from us that very moment.

We hung out by the cars while the officer wrote up a report, and I chatted up her 5 year old, Carina. The kids were a bit bummed because they were headed to Playspace, and this was pretty much the opposite of Playspace.  Carina snapped her fingers for me and I whistled for her and then we both took a hand at rubbing our bellies and patting our heads simultaneously.  Eventually the officer finished the report and confirmed that the driver's insurance would take care of the cost...I then pictured my reaction as a sitcom character.  I imagined myself jumping into a lunge, pumping my fist in the air hissing, "YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" as if I was a 9 year old who just got a 100% on her multiplication test. 

*This is the 2nd time in less than 2 months that some yahoo has run into my car.  Here's hoping for another sweet ride of a rental car.