The Day My Car Burst into Flames

Hello, Fine Readers.

I'm sorry it has been such a long time since I have blogged. December was a lot crazier than I ever could have imagined, and it went out with a bang, as I'm sure most of you have heard. But, for the sake of memories, I'm going to describe in detail what happened.

So Kevin went home for Christmas on the 23rd, because he didn't have to work on Christmas Eve, like I did. He took Logan, the gifts he bought and, obviously, his own stuff. He used my car because we consider his Toyota to be the "safe" car in the winter. It's heavier and handles wind well and we knew Christmas Eve was going to be windy with blowing snow.

I just worked until 1 on Christmas Eve and had my car all packed so I could leave straight from there. In the car, I had a few days' worth of clothes, plus all of the fixin's to get ready for the day (hair dryer, make up, hair straightener that I recently bought, etc), meaningful accessories, all of the presents I had packed for everyone, Christmas cards that I was going to hand out and send late (seriously, it was a crazy month...). On top of this, Kevin's car had almost every single one of my CDs, plus he might as well live in his car. He had his whole weight set in there, our camping gear, sleeping bag, a friend's blankets... really random things.

This said, I hit the road to go home. With the weather so windy and snow blowing all over, I told myself what I always say when I'm driving during that time of year- Nothing bad can happen to you if you're listening to Christmas music. So I popped in my Jessica Simpson CD, first, and got down to O Holy Night as I drove. After a bit, I was tired of her music and threw Mariah Carey's Christmas CD in. Soon afterwards, the car started making a grinding noise in the front. I was confused, obviously, because the Toyota has never given us any trouble. We brag about that. To resolve the issue, I turned the music up louder so I couldn't hear the noise and figured I'd just mention it when I got home. Then I noticed that the RPM was going from 2-4 repeatedly, but I also ignored that 'cause my first car (shout out to Chelsea who had a nearly identical car!!) did that all the time. Just as I soothed myself about how my first car did that, I heard a POP in the back, which called my attention to the rearview mirror.

I saw flames shooting out the back of my car.

Fortunately, no one was tailing me or anything. I slowed down and pulled over to the shoulder. As I did this, my car slid so that the trunk was facing the highway. That was a little frightening, but all I could think was, "Get out of the car. Get out of the car." So I automatically grabbed my purse and keys and got out. As soon as I did, I saw that a nice man about my age had pulled over behind me. My first instinct was that he was going to be mean and scary and steal me. So before I let my real instincts about him go through, I called the Iowa State Patrol, because Kevin made sure YEARS ago that I had them programmed into my phone. I happened to be right next to a sign saying what the next exit was and told the lady that I was the only person in the car and where it was. Then the man asked if I just wanted to get out of the freeeeezing cold while we waited for the cops to come and my instinct was that he had no intention of stealing me. He was actually, like... how do you say.... kind hearted.

While we waited, another man pulled over. At first, I thought he was part of a rescue crew, because I didn't see his car, but he was dressed in emergency gear. He was an innocent bystander who was all set to go in my car and save anyone who might have been stuck in the evergrowing fire!! I absolutely could not believe the heart and bravery this man had! I waved him over and told him that I was the only passenger and I didn't have so much as a scratch. To be honest, when I got out of the car, my biggest worry was that I was going to fall, because I'm a huge clutz, and I didn't even lose my balance. To this man, I didn't even think saying, "Thank you for attempting to save the lives of strangers who would have been my dearly, intensely loved ones while risking your own life" was enough. How do you thank a stranger for that??

When he was safely back at his car another stranger pulled up. He was such a man. First, he wanted to make sure everyone was out of the car, which was, obviously, incredibly nice. He had been driving on the other side of the interstate and turned around. Once I assured him that I was the only one in there, he exploded with, "THAT WAS AWESOME!!! THAT WAS... THAT WAS AWESOME!!! I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT!!! THE FLAMES WERE GOING OUT FOUR FEET ON EITHER SIDE OF YOUR CAR!!!" Then, although we were already several yards back from the car, he suggested we back up several more feet in case the car was to explode. He then returned to his truck.

Soon after, a lady pulled up in her van. She jumped out and had the most worried look on her face. I got out of the man's car and waved to her and shouted that the car belonged to me. She sighed a huge sigh of relief, saying that she was wondering why no one was near the car, helping and now understood it was because I was already out. She asked if she could hug me, 'cause the fire had scared her so much and when we hugged, she asked if I had my purse. By then, everything was so overwhelming, that I couldn't remember. But I looked back in the man's car and saw that I did.

We waited what felt like an hour, but was maybe five more minutes and the firemen and state patrolman pulled up. I hugged Ruben, the man who had let me sit in his car, and went to sit in the state patrolman's car while I watched the firemen put out the flames.

For most of the time, the reality hadn't hit me. It felt like I was watching a movie. But when I decided it was time to call Kevin and tell him what was going on, it really hit me. I suppose because that was when I had to live in the moment and describe what I was seeing. Flames engulfing his car. We call everything "ours," but to me, this really was his because he bought it before we were married. His first "grown up" purchase as soon as he started his career and I couldn't believe I was watching it go up in flames. And at that moment, I was also just thinking of all the gifts I had for everyone and how I wouldn't have anything to give anyone. As more time went on, I realized all of the belongings that we lost, mainly the things that I packed for my stay that had meaning to me. One was a necklace that my aunt bought me in Texas just last March. She let her daughters and me each choose a piece of jewelry that we wanted and it was such a hard decision, but the necklace that I chose was so meaningful and the design was so "me," but the memory of feeling like a sister with my cousins while we chose our jewelry was priceless... and I guess that also means the memory doesn't burn up in flames, even if I don't have the necklace. Another was a gorgeous silk scarf from my godmother. Another was the duffel bag, which was from my Grampa. I've been attached to it since the day he gave it to me. There were also CDs that people have made just for Kevin and me, sand that Kevin and I collected on each trip to the beach where he proposed... the list goes on, but like everyone says, "Things are replaceable, Meghan is not." I'm so blessed that I wasn't even scratched by the door that day, let alone so much worse.

Not only did those strangers have the heart to stop and make sure I was okay, which I found so heartwarming... my coworkers and supervisors at work got together and chipped in some money over the past week. They surprised me with a check big enough to replace the expensive things that I lost in the fire and use daily- a hair dryer, a hair straightener, and there might be some left over for a pair of pants. I was so touched I couldn't find the right words to thank them. I think the best way to thank them will be to do something equally kind when I meet someone who has gone through something difficult and could use a little help.

Pay it forward.