tractor | my90acres

This is what happens when a tractor runs into the side of your car, even just going about five miles per hour. Those lines are from the tire treads.

The photo above shows what happened when a tractor ran into the side of my car last week. Yes, driven by my husband, too. Bummer. I had run up to town to get a few books from the little library – none of them for me, by the way. I waved to my husband as I left. He was out on his old Allis Chalmers brush hogging the edges of the fields after the farmer had harvested earlier. He likes to get things tidied up before winter.

On my return, I saw him in the front field but he didn’t see me. As I was coming down the long drive, he took a sudden turn right into the side of my car. Ten seconds either way would have avoided the accident. I tried to turn out of the way but was blocked in by some trees and a telephone pole.

You know, it’s a pretty helpless feeling when you know what’s coming and you can’t do anything about it. But….I haven’t had an accident since I was sixteen the first time I drove on ice so I really can’t complain. It’s just the aggravation of taking care of everything that is so annoying.

So, I picked up the pieces of the crushed mirror and came on up to the house. Then I decided that I needed to do a little contemplation with an adult beverage on the patio. It was a sunny, balmy day and my dog Mikey kept me company in his chair.

It’s only a car. No one was hurt. We have insurance. It could have been a whole lot worse. (There wasn’t a scratch on the tractor.) As I sat looking up at the trees, I decided to count my blessings. This always helps me to put things into perspective.

Thankfully, no one in my immediate family has been brought down by the COVID. (Although I have lost a friend and had some other acquaintances who have had the illness.) We live in a place where we have plenty of freedom to get outside, work to do, books to read. We’re not rich but the bills are paid and we can sleep at night.

Thanksgiving is coming up and we’re so fortunate that we have plenty of food. Others are not so lucky. I usually have a big spread for the holiday with lots of friends and family. That is not happening this year. I haven’t seen my father since last Christmas and he lives less than a hundred miles from me. But…I am still fixing a big meal. We will be delivering it to my son’s family nearby and a friend across the county. She’s in her nineties and still lives on her own. She’s been a guest at our table for over thirty years. I love to send people home with care packages of another meal or two.

So, a little annoyance this past week. But I still have much to be grateful for. I expect you do, too. I hope so anyway. Be careful out there and count your blessings.