Clarification

There is this intersection that I drive through often--the intersection of Center St. and Fourth St. Center St., as the name suggests, is a main thoroughfare through town. Although the speed limit is 35, people are rarely doing 35. Fourth St. is a neighborhood street that has the unique property of going straight through from one side of town to the other with almost no stop signs...except one--the one at Center St. As you can imagine, sometimes people get into a groove driving across town and, because there are no stop signs at previous intersections, they don't see the one at the Center St. intersection and they plow through--sometimes safely, sometimes not. Once in 2004, I was hit as I drove along Center St. Someone ran the stop sign and smashed the whole side of my car. I was not hurt, but the back door had to be replaced, the axle was bent, I needed new tires.... I'm sure many of you have had similar experiences. And now, as I approach that intersection, every time I see someone coming down 4th St., I flinch. I feel my hands tighten on the wheel, I ride the brakes...basically I tense up. Most people would not blame me for this. I've been hit before and I've seen others hit in the same way. It is not a safe intersection, though hundreds, if not thousands, of people drive by it safely every single day.

Can you see where I'm going with this?

I'm not saying this so that the people who have never been hit and who have no fear will suddenly be fearful--that is the last thing I want. I'm not saying it to be the doomsday person with the big "abandon hope all ye who drive past this intersection!" sign. I'm not saying it just to be negative and I'm not trying to take away the joy of the people who drive past there daily, be-bopping along to their car stereo. I'm telling you so that you can understand my perspective. I have been hit driving past that intersection and it scared me. It is really that simple, don't you think?

So for all the home.birthing mamas out there who might have been upset by my last post or who might have been shocked at the fact that I freaked and sobbed to find out that my nephew was born at home, I'm sorry. In another life, I know I would be a home.birthing advocate. I know this. I love the idea of low or no intervention births, I firmly believe in a baby's need to be skin-to-skin with its mother and not in some nursery somewhere, and I believe with all my heart in the ability of a woman's body to give birth. But at this particular intersection, there is too much at stake for me to drive by without flinching. I hope people can understand this.