On Monday morning, I spoke with my insurance company and the owner of the auto repair shop about the damage to the car. I learned about my coverage and deductible and all the information you read in your policy, but don’t necessarily process until you need it.
The short version of the story is the shop is waiting for an insurance adjuster to check out the car, take pictures, and discuss a repair estimate. My insurance covers a rental car for a specific period of time, so O’Kerri and I packed up a rental (it’s a canary yellow PT Cruiser convertible and it totally makes me giggle) and drove to Denver on Monday afternoon. She’s staying with one of her friends on the northwest side of town and I’m staying with Peachy & Mountain Man on the southwest side of town.
Until the insurance adjuster comes out, the shop’s hands are tied on starting any repairs. The owner (very nice man, by the way. If you ever need auto work done in southwestern Colorado, call Bill at Piedra Automotive) gave me a preliminary idea of the damage and it includes needing two new wheels and something about a bunch of lines being broken or cracked or leaking and transmission oil and he just kept listing things and I kept nodding, even though I started to have a little mental panic about the length of the list of damages. He sent pictures and I bent the heck out of two rims, punched a hole in something, tore out a piece of something else, and put a crazy hole in one of my brand new tires. He said it’s a possibility that they’ll total the car, which is upsetting, but I really am ok with that, because:
This situation is teaching me about patience and understanding, but mostly, it’s reinforcing my thoughts about finding the good in everything. I have every reason to be bummed out and annoyed and depressed but none of that compares with the many ways in which I am so fortunate.
Pagosa Springs is a beautiful town and we were able to spend a little bit of time there, enough time to know that I’d love to return for vacation. The people in Pagosa are so incredibly nice and helpful and just good people that I feel thankful to have met the folks who helped us out. I wish I remembered everyone’s names, but things have just happened so fast. For sure Reggie, Bill, Susan, Steve, and Jack at Piedra Automotive, the Colorado State Patrol officer who changed the tire for us, the woman at the front desk of the hotel who allowed us an early check in and late check out, Tammie at Boss Hogg’s restaurant … all of these people have just been good to O’Kerri and me.
And, that brings me to O’Kerri. She has every right to be mad at me. She could have gotten mad. She could have yelled at me about not avoiding the rock, about putting her life in danger, about making her miss her reservations and plans in Denver … the list goes on and on.
She hasn’t yelled at me once. She might be mad, but I don’t think so. She’s been incredibly understanding, patient, and a wonderful grounding presence. We both kept our cool pretty well while on the Pass Sunday and we’ve found things to laugh about and giggle about. She was even willing to drive with me again over the pass on Monday, barely 24 hours after the accident!! That’s saying something! Our friendship has surpassed another level. Man, go through a car accident and all the crazy stuff we’ve been going through with someone and your friendship is CEMENTED! I am very grateful for that. Kerri is an incredible woman.
Peachy and Mountain Man are also always amazing. They’ve opened their home to me, and offered whatever assistance they can provide in this situation. Tonight, I’m looking forward to their homemade spaghetti dinner - wahoo!!
All of my colleagues at work have been supportive and friendly and concerned. They’ve offered me a place to stay if Peachy & Mountain Man need to boot me to the curb for a while and even talked about letting me just spare bedroom surf for the next couple of weeks if I need it. They joked about all calling each other and working out a schedule “who can take Margi & O’Kerri for a few days?” and I don’t doubt that they’d all step up if I needed them to.
My Facebook friends and family have reached out with support, people are reading this blog and offering kind words of support. Jon hasn’t gotten mad at me, or at least he hasn’t told me he’s mad! I can see jokes about hitting rocks for the rest of our lives. This is payback for the ribbing I’ve been giving him about getting our S10 truck stuck on a (way bigger) rock one evening several years ago that led to some absolutely gorgeous sunset pictures (and didn’t involve a tow truck or our insurance company). 
This is all coming together in the best way possible. Sure, it would have been better to miss all the expense and lost time, but honestly, I’m learning so much and seeing so much good that I’d have missed if I hadn’t hit that rock. I see the silver lining and I’m thankful for it all.
Update: the claims adjuster called and he will be out to check out the car “first thing” Wednesday, March4. Fingers crossed!!