Death Smiling

January 2, 2023. On the freeway with my husband and nine-month-old daughter. Left lane, 80 MPH, speed of traffic, 30-or-so feet in front a red sedan suddenly veers into its rightmost lane, not realizing another car is right next to them. The driver overcorrects and next thing I know, both cars have struck each other and are spinning out of control - right in front of our trajectory. Glass shattering, smoke billowing - death smiling at high noon. I don't think. There is no time to think. I quickly look to my right lest making the same grave mistake. No issue. I veer right and don't have enough time to check the next lane. I take a leap of faith and veer right again, just missing the demolished vehicles. I don't have the time or peace of mind to consider what meat sandwich my family and I would have become should we have been stopped by those two cars. I haven't imagined how many more cars joined the pileup. I'm still in shock, and full with gratitude that - within that 1.5-second span - I was able to safely move three lanes and avoid what would have happened.

Had to get this off my chest. Thank you for reading.