1. Most importantly: the car did its job and protected Colby. He's shaken and mad but okay.
2. Not his fault. His light was green, but the woman insisted her arrow was also green. Police have now been able to review footage from a camera at that intersection, and Colby had the green light.
3. His eardrum isn't ruptured as he feared, but the airbag noise caused him to lose hearing at a certain decibel in his left ear. Noises are muffled. He saw an ENT doctor who performed a hearing test and gave him steroids to take for a week. Colby may or may not regain full hearing with time.
4. He had just left our house to go play soccer Tuesday night. When he texted Dan, "Start driving, I've been hit," Dan left immediately and was able to get to him quickly. We're grateful he wasn't far across the city.
5. The car is totaled. He makes his last payment next month, and then it was going to be fully paid off. It was a used car but he's only owned it for two years. He's negotiating with insurance to get a fair enough amount to replace his car, and then he'll need to go car shopping. He liked his car and will probably get the same year and make.
6. This wreck he didn't cause is a huge inconvenience. The many phone calls with insurance, driving to the junkyard, driving across the city to an ENT -- they've cut into his work days.
7. We bought a newer Jetta a few months ago but we still have the old 2008 one, so there's an extra car he can drive as he sorts everything out. We've been meaning to get rid of it but haven't yet. It's not pretty - it's covered in Minnesota rust, and it can be unpredictable, but most days it still works enough.
8. There are big accidents all the time, all over this city. I hate it, but it was a matter of time before it happened to one of us. Colby bought a dash camera yesterday in case this happens again.
9. He went to the junkyard yesterday where his car was towed to get the rest of his belongings and say goodbye to his car.
10. Now that we know his eardrum isn't ruptured, and things are working out in his favor because he's not at fault, we feel a little calmer.
11. This weekend we're car shopping too, as our 2011 Chevrolet Traverse turns 15 years old this month. I passed 200,000 miles which feels like a milestone, especially for a Chevrolet. I'm proud of it. However, the car has some quirks, and last year it stranded me a few times until Dan figured out which part to replace. Last month the headlights stopped working for good. Now I have to hurry home when it starts getting dark, before I need to turn on headlights that don't work. Someday the car will finally stop working for good, and I don't know when that day will be but it feels close.
