EDITED TO ADD: I started writing this last night around 9:30-10pm, and our Internet access went out. Thankfully, it’s finally back up!

Let me first say that I’m fine, Noah is fine, and I think Esmerelda Freugenspeigel is ok too. (Although I’m most nervous about her.)

On our way home from Noah’s day care, he and I were in a car accident.

We were just leaving the downtown area, and were almost to the most awful intersection in our commute. Today it had flashing yellow lights for people going East-West and flashing red lights for people heading North. The road is blocked from the North, so people can’t come from that direction, and those traveling Northbound have to turn.

Tons and tons of people heading East turn to go South to get on the interstate at that intersection, so I almost always try to be in the left lane. No one can go very fast, because the road is narrow and there’s a ton of traffic. Also, the entire block South-East of the intersection is fenced off and under construction, so the right lane is super-narrow over there.

So that’s the scene. The naughty lady in question drove her big black SUV through the red light, right in front of me.

I slammed on the brakes, and hit near the end of the driver’s side of her vehicle. In the middle of the intersection.

The first thing I did after that was turn to see how Noah was doing. He looked alarmed and announced loudly, “Mommy! That lady was REALLY naughty!” Since he was obviously breathing and neither bleeding nor crying, I started breathing again, agreed with him, and then tried to figure out where to pull over. Unsure about what kind of damage my car had taken, I opted for pulling forward and into the right lane, next to the construction site. It was still blocking traffic, but less traffic, at least.

While Noah chattered about the construction site (it was dark and apparently full of monsters), I dug around in my purse, looking for my phone. Before I even found it, the other driver appeared at my window – did I mention all the traffic??? And started yelling at me for not stopping, and accusing me of accellerating to hit her.

Yeah, that got my attention.

“Are you kidding me? You ran the red light! I’m driving with my baby in the car and I’m 8 months pregnant and you think I would accellerate to hit you? I slammed on my brakes! How on earth was I supposed to know you were going to run that red light?” (Not that I normally would accellerate to hit a red-light runner. My point was that I would have to be so far beyond merely irresponsible as to be a totally unhinged crazy person, to do something like that under the circumstances.)

She continued ranting, and I went back to looking for my phone. Then I dialed 911 and told the operator I’d been in a car accident. My dialog with the 911 operator seemed to calm down the other driver, who finally moved out of traffic and over between the construction fence and my passenger door. When I got off the phone, she and I established that no one in either car seemed to be hurt. She wandered off, and I called Jill.

Within another very few minutes, a police officer appeared at my window. Quite appropriately, I thought, his primary concern was with making sure that my gargantuanly pregnant self was not in need of an immediate ambulance. It was pretty clear by then that Noah was ok – he was focused on eating graham crackers. The officer’s next priority was to figure out what happened.

At the end of the back and forth interactions – he went back to his squad car and to talk with the other driver a few times – the officer told me that he wasn’t going to issue anyone any citations, but that he would note in his report that I had the right of way. He also took a look at the front of my car and assured me that it looked drivable and not badly damaged. (I’d already told him that I was afraid to get out to inspect it, given the high volume of traffic. He agreed that I should stay in the car.)

Personally, I don’t understand why he didn’t write that woman a ticket for running the red light. But no one was hurt, and I didn’t feel strongly enough to argue about it.

By the time Noah and I got home, I was having to work pretty hard to act like everything was ok and stay calm for Noah. I was also having Braxton-Hicks contractions like crazy, and Esmerelda Freugenspeigel, who had been rippling and bumping all over my belly for most of the day was eeriely quiet. But I wasn’t in any pain, and I wasn’t bleeding.

I called the doctor’s office and had them page the midwife. She asked me a ton of questions, and ultimately recommended that I lie down, drink some juice, and see if Esmerelda got active again. If she didn’t, or if I had any bleeding, cramping, or pain, I should call back immediately and she’d meet me at the hospital.

Noah had a moderately clingy evening, and Esmerelda did get moving again. She was less active than she’d been during the day, but there was definitely movement. My neck and shoulders are a little sore, but otherwise, I’m feeling ok too.

As Jill put it. Please let that “bad things happen in 3s” be true, and let this be the third thing.