Rainy Autumn Nights

Nights like these make me nostalgic and I am fearful of heading out in this type of weather. People think kids will forget - but I guarantee they remember monumental events in their lives.

Let's rewind back 25 years - it was a Monday night in November - it was rainy and the leaves on the ground were wet and slippery - I was about to get a bath and the phone rang. Next thing I know, I was getting dressed again and a cop was picking me and my pregnant mother up to take us to the hospital. My father had been involved in a serious automobile accident while on duty. If you let him tell you what happened on that night, he was driving and his car slipped on the wet leaves and a pole came out and hit his car! I never knew a pole could do that, but it is just IMPOSSIBLE that HE hit the pole because he is a lean, mean driving machine.

I never remember my mother showing me she was upset - what I do remember is the cops playing with me in the waiting room doing whatever I wanted to occupy me so I wasn't aware of the seriousness of what was going on. Just last week a captain was on the news discussing a crime and my dad asked me if I remembered him - I did not, but he had drew a picture with me while I waited. I also remember Mayor Wilson Goode coming in, picking me up, hugging me, and how his mustache tickled my cheek which made me laugh. But what I remember most were all the trips to the hospital and how my life/ schedule changed because my dad was not there. He was in the hospital for A MONTH! At this time, my mother did not have her license yet - I cannot remember how I got to school since my dad always drove me.  I even started reverting back to acting like a baby again - I guess my child-like mind could not deal with this change. My dad could no longer get on the floor and play with me - he was confined to a hospital bed - and when he finally got out the hospital, he was still limited to what he could do with me because he was still on the mend.

Until this day, I am still anxious about my dad if he is out driving on a rainy, autumn night. I am never at ease until he has arrived home. I guess this will be with me forever - however, I am coming to terms with it. I went out last night with Jeannette although there were wet leaves on the road - that's the first step, right?!

Do you have any childhood memories that carried over into your adult life that triggers an emotional response?