KaWHANGo!

That was the sound I heard on Friday at 4:15 pm when I was waiting patiently for my turn at a 4-way stop on my way to a relaxing pedicure appointment (I took a 1/2 day from work... don't worry, I don't usually skip out of work early). But, even though I was a mere block away from parking my car safely, I was rear-ended (quite hard, I must say) by a huge SUV whose driver either:

1. didn't realize it was a 4-way stop intersection and I hadn't budged from my totally stopped position,
2. saw a mirage and started to go even though I hadn't budged from my totally stopped position, or
3. was talking on a cell phone and didn't see that I hadn't budged from my totally stopped position.

Whatever the scenario was in the car behind me, my poor little car bore the brunt of the collision. The backside of my compact car became even more compact and the SUV had nary a scratch. Harumph. An even bigger harumph considering the woman who hit me was driving a rental car because her car was being repaired after she was in another car accident two week's prior. Hmmm... maybe someone needs a refresher course in the basics of driving a car?

Now, when an 8-month pregnant person, whose car has just been smashed and launched into an intersection, gets out of the car to inspect damage and exchange information, you can only imagine the horror, shock and disbelief on the person's face who just rammed into said pregnant lady.

• An afternoon off of work to get her car washed and a pedicure: $50
• Cost of repair on European car after getting rear-ended: $10,000
• Look on face of person who rear-ended a pregnant lady: Priceless

No joke on the car washing... I had just driven off the car wash lot on my way to my pedicure appointment when I got KaWANGo'ed. Now all that exists is a sad and pathetic back side of my super clean car.

Now, when you're 8-months pregnant and are in a car accident, guess what happens after you file a claim with your insurance company? That's right. You get to make a run to Labor & Delivery to ensure that your wee one is still safe and sound after practically getting thrust out of its safe hiding place about 5 to 6 weeks too soon.

So off we went on our trial run to L&D on a Friday night. Luckily, the trip in to the city was effortless and the kind hospital people were gracious and accommodating. And, luckily, my own doctor just so happened to be the on-call doctor that night, so I was able to see her instead of some strange doctor. All is well and good, though, and baby checked out just fine. Baby was somewhat relaxed, apparently, as its heart-rate was in the 120s, which would spike to the high 130s every time it kicked and/or moved. Luckily it was moving quite regularly as I saw the spikes happen at pretty decent intervals. I didn't have to be admitted and we went home.

Hopefully the next time we head to L&D is when I'm actually in Labor and actually ready to Deliver. Please let that be in approximately 5 to 6 weeks from now. Not too much sooner than that, and not too much after that.

Only two pieces of evidence of a car accident: a smooshed car and a sore back. Not that my back wasn't sore to begin with due to standard pregnancy protocol, thank-you-very-much, but now it's a slightly more intense and targeted soreness. Guess I have a valid excuse to get a massage now...