Sunday, October 02, 2011

Fate, Thanks or Luck? Sometimes Neither.

I've been doing a lot of thinking this past week how life can change so dramatically in a flash and whether there is such thing as good fortune, fate or just plain luck.  Why do things turn out ok in the end ... for some.

Do you believe in any superstitions?  If I have to walk under a ladder I will.  If the best house in the street was number 13, I'd be ok with that and if I were to break a mirror I'd be more annoyed I'd have to sweep up the glass rather than worried that I was in for 7 years bad luck, but I do get a little anxious when I can see a numerical trend forming.  I can sometimes be one who leans towards believing things come in 3's.  One case in point, which I've been doing a lot of thinking about this week, are my nephews.  I've had 3 nephews hit by cars and all have miraculously survived.

Nephew number one was out celebrating a footy victory and decided to take a short-cut home ... via a busy off ramp!  As fate had it (is this what it was ... fate?) an off duty nurse was first on the scene of the accident and was able to assist him.  The policeman first on the scene thought he was done for.  Visiting him in ICU, I thought the same but he survived and is fighting fit, albeit some scars.

Nephew number two was in a celebratory mood and somehow ended up falling asleep (passing out perhaps) ... behind a car in his driveway.  A friend of his decided to go looking for him, in the car, and ended up reversing over him!  He was about to be discharged from hospital after an overnight stay when he passed out.  Thankfully for him (is it thanks?) the new doctor on duty picked up some major oversights the previous doctor had made.  Nephew number two is now back at work & sporting some decent scars.

Nephew number three was out with friends at the local & decided to walk home ... on the shoulder of a major road!  Can you see a trend forming here folks?  Yes, he was hit by a car, from behind by a 4WD.  Luckily for him (was it luck? it certainly wasn't luck for the driver), he was with a group of mates who called for help and the driver stopped.  Nine months down the track, with multiple operations & hospitalisations, nephew number three can walk unassisted.  His ankle is pretty much shot.  I doubt he will ever trek Kokoda, or even jog down the beach, but he can walk.
Ankle before surgery.

Ankle after ... forever to beep thru airport security.
For a friend of mine though, her little nephew was not so lucky.  He was one of the children who has tragically been killed by a family car over the past few weeks and I have not stopped thinking about it.  The child. The parents. My friend. The pain. The blame. The recounting. The emptiness. The sadness.  Why was there no luck, fate or thankfulness here?

It is just so bloody tragic.

Love your kids.  You just never know.

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p.s.  Horseshoe image from here http://www.etsy.com/shop/museglass?ref=seller_info

6 comments:

  1. Oh my stars! I can't believe how incredibly lucky your nephews have been. Thank goodness for that. Just miraculous. J x

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  2. You have brought tears to my eyes, how very sad. I was only thinking last night, soon I will be worrying about my big boy driving. Mimi xx

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  3. WOW! Thats 3 amazing stories, such incredible escapes.
    I have seen these terrible tragedies on the news of late & being a mum myself I can only imagine the devastation your friends must be feeling. I am fortunate to have a reversinsing camera & sensors in my car & they have been very useful.
    My heart goes out to your friends.

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  4. Oh that is so tragic. It is so hard when such things are close to home. Hugs to you and your friend. Xx

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  5. WOW LM, this is an amazing post to read, yes scary. I'm so glad the three are ok! (if you'd call it that) well, at least alive. So sad about the family who lost a child, this is truly an unbearable thought for me. I personally don't believe in anything but unpredictability - not fate, not luck etc, however, I often say "oh the stars must be aligned that way today" for either good or bad outcomes in life... At the end of the day, does it matter, would it change anything? I think if people can resort to "luck" or "fate" they somehow take more risks, and perhaps justify their bad decisions, so I guess I may sway towards saying it's a bad analogy in some hands. In yoru situation - I'd def say "oh the stars...." :)

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    Replies
    1. My sister-n-law jokes that she's not game to let her son out with mine when they're old enough to head out on the town. Some very expensive and painful lessons learnt by my nephews.

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