As many of you likely know by now I love to drive. Back roads. Country concessions. Endless highways. Anywhere where there is an horizon and a promise of freedom and perhaps escape. The shot above, taken just north of Mono Cliffs Provincial Park on a recent drive, is my definition of the freedom of the road. The ability to see beauty at every turn, however, is a recent philosophy hard earned in a most spectacular way.

I am celebrating an anniversary. 10 years ago this weekend I was the lucky recipient of a second chance at life. On a snowy, icy drive between Truro, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick on a Saturday night in November I hit a patch of black ice on the Trans Canada Highway going 120 km’s per hour. The rental Jeep I was driving spun immediately out of control and silently spun off the highway and not so silently crashed end over end down an embankment eventually resting nose down in a ditch layered with ice over deep, very cold water. It all happened in a second. Yes, the proverbial life flashing before my eyes actually did happen. When the Jeep left the road, spinning like a helicopter, I was met with chilling silence. The realization that I was airborne registered quickly and my only thought before the vehicle hit ground and start flipping was “oh $%&@, this is going to hurt.” It did. Eventually and still.

I remember waking up suspended in air with my seatbelt holding me in place. I released my belt and fell immediately through the ice into the ditch, getting stuck almost waist deep in water. I could not move. And beside me was what was left of the Jeep, silently smoking. Admittedly not a great place to be.  The highway was high above me and all I could see through the falling snow was the tops of transport trucks as they wooshed by. Thank goodness for cell phones, for alert truck drivers and for the RCMP.  I was eventually rescued, dragged up the embankment into the warmth of a transport truck to await the RCMP and help.

To this day I am shocked I walked away from this violent, spectacular car crash virtually free of injury. Picture Bruce Willis walking away from the train accident in Unbreakable. I do have vertebrae that decide to pop out with the least provocation. A neck that won’t turn  at inconvenient times. Ribs that sit awkwardly and restrict movement. I’m no longer the wraithlike Energizer Bunny most of you remember but I am alive. And so incredibly thankful for a second chance at life.

Why am I telling you this? First of all, please do not relay this story to my parents. I have never told them and hope they never know about my close call on the road ten years ago. They do not need to worry about me and the places my job and life takes me. But I am telling you about this to remind you not to take life for granted. Hug your family longer. Enjoy sunrises and sunsets, and the smell of rain. Say thank you and you’re welcome. Smile. Breathe.

I will also ask you to do the following when you drive because I didn’t that night and it almost cost me my life.  Pay attention to the road at ALL times!  That night I was coming from an author meeting and thinking intently about the possible title for a new textbook on empowerment for Grade 7 Social Studies in Atlantic Canada. I did not notice that the rain in Truro had turned to snow in New Brunswick and that the temperature had dropped significantly, so much so that there was a flash freeze and the highway had become a skating rink. I actually came up with the title for that resource just before flying off the road: Change Your World. How prophetic!! and ironic. That resource may just outlive me and almost did! Pay attention to the road and the exits, especially on a long drive. When I was stuck down in that ditch, I could not tell the RCMP where I was. There were countless accidents that night due to the flash freeze and all of their resources were being used on accidents they could see. No one could see me and I did not know where I was. To this day I thank my Roots backpack with it’s giant florescent maple leaf and the alert truck driver who saw it through the snow. He was certainly shocked to see what he found down that embankment once he climbed over the guard rails. If he hadn’t, I could have been known as Popsicle Patti ever after. Pay attention!! Don’t take anything for granted.

Mostly, the existentialist curiosity in me constantly wonders why am I still here. What is my purpose? These questions came quickly after the accident, while it was still painfully fresh but after the shock had worn off. And they nag me each anniversary when I take the time to thank my lucky stars and recommit myself to savouring life. Every joy, every bump and bruise. While I’m not unbreakable, nor invincible, I am incredibly thankful. I’m still breathing!

I’m going to leave you with my current favourite song that gets me walking faster on the boardwalk each night.

 Took a long hard look at my life
Lost my way while I was fighting the tide
A big black cloud, stormy sky
Followed me, oh I was living a lie 
So heartless, so selfish, so in darkness
When all your nights are starless
You’re running outta hope 
But I found the strength inside to see
Found the better part of me
And I’ll never let it go

I’ve come a long, long way
Made a lot of mistakes
But I’m breathin’, breathin’
That’s right and I mean it, mean it
This time I’m a little run down
I’ve been living out loud
I could beat it, beat it
That’s right, cause I’m feelin’, feelin’
Invincible

When you’re gone for a day
On your own 
Tear your heart out just to find your way home
I’ve been so high 
I’ve sunk so low 
I’ve come so far, with nothing to show for it
Mistaken, I got so good at taking
But now I’m tired of faking
This story’s getting old
So I found the strength inside to see
From the better part of me
And I’ll never let it go

I’ve come a long, long way
Made a lot of mistakes
But I’m breathin’, breathin’
That’s right and I mean it, mean it
This time I’m a little run down
I’ve been living out loud 
I could beat it, beat it
That’s right, ’cause I’m feelin’, feelin’
Invincible

I’m not the only one
That crashed into the sun
And lived to fight another day
Like a super nova
That old life is over 
I’m here to stay
Now I’m gonna be
Invincible

I’ve come a long, long way
Made a lot of mistakes
But I’m breathin’, breathin’ 
That’s right and I mean it, mean it 
This time I’m a little run down 
I’ve been living out loud 
I could beat it, beat it
That’s right ’cause I’m feelin’, feelin’
Invincible

-Hedley