Chapter 4 – Euphoria
I was about 5 years old… we had a wonderful place at the coast in Port Aransas, Texas. We would go down there several times a year. This time was in the winter and as is common in Texas we had a very warm day despite being very cold the days previous.
I wanted to go swimming and would not give up on it despite my parents saying it was too cold. My dad finally said I’ll just take her down there and let her put her toes in. Of course, I never do anything like that… I was so excited that I ran and jumped into the deep end of the pool.
As soon as I hit the water, it was so cold that my body immediately went into shock. I remember everything was in extremely slow motion. I began to sink as I couldn’t move or breathe.
You would think that your fight or flight would kick in and you would be panicking. That is not what happened.
I felt the most peaceful euphoria of my young and inexperienced life. It was pure happiness and love. No fear whatsoever. Extremely calming and sweet. It seemed like a long time that I was wrapped up in that love.
My dad was able to grab me and pull me out by my hair. (That was all that he could grab a hold of) I was shivering and in shock. He wrapped me in a towel and took me to my mom upstairs who immediately gave me a shot of whiskey to warm me up. Yes, whiskey. Welcome to my family! But it worked, and I was fine. I would never forget that feeling though…
____________________________________________
I had a LOT of fun in college and am very blessed to have made some life-long friends there. It was a wonderful time of my life, but it was not without tragedy.
My roommate and I were dating roommates down the street at the time. She and her boyfriend had talked about getting married and were very much in love.
One evening, they were coming back from a visit with his mom in Dallas. The driver of an 18- wheeler on I-35 fell asleep and the truck jumped the median and literally ran over their car. He was killed instantly. She barely had room for her head in the crushed car and it was a miracle that she survived. She would have to undergo several surgeries and go through a very long recovery. I don’t think she has still recovered fully emotionally or physically for that matter.
This was before cell phones. Being in college, I was NEVER home and always out doing something. I believe this was even a Friday or Saturday, which makes it even crazier that I was home to receive the call.
I had forgotten something at home and had only swung by the apartment to get it. I don’t remember now what it was, but I was there to take the call from her parents. They were coming from Houston which would take several hours, and they asked me to get to the hospital, which I did. I know that was God that coordinated me to be home for that phone call.
Several months later after she was out of the hospital, my boyfriend and I were coming back from a wedding in Dallas as well. Ironically, we had stopped to call her because we were running late and didn’t want her to worry as she was still traumatized and we were on the same stretch of road. We talked to her and told her we were fine and should be there in about an hour.
My boyfriend was driving my car. We had stopped in a very small town, and it was getting dark. Getting back onto the highway, we were both looking behind us for any cars coming as we were merging. All of a sudden there was an impact, and we couldn’t see anything but fiery liquid on the windshield.
We pulled over and my boyfriend screamed to get out and run. Which he did… I went to do the same but apparently the impact was on my side of the car so I couldn’t open my door. I was in shock so I couldn’t figure out how to get out of my seatbelt and get out of the car. I just sat there watching the flames…
Again… that same feeling as when I was drowning in the pool as a child came over me again. I wasn’t afraid, it was so peaceful and loving. A feeling honestly that you didn’t really want to leave. Better than anything in this life and truly somehow your nature. I don’t know if that makes sense, but it is where you belong. Wrapped in love with no fear.
Again, time stopped there, and it seemed like I was there a very long time. In reality, it was probably only a couple of minutes before my boyfriend realized I wasn’t behind him. He came back and got me out of my seatbelt and pulled me through the driver’s side door. We both fell into the highway, which is amazing we didn’t get hit as this is I-35. It is one of the most crowded highways in the US.
We then began running up the median as we were afraid that the car was going to blow up as it was still on fire. Someone finally called 911 and stopped. That’s when we realized that we had hit a man walking with a gas can in the entrance to the highway.
There isn’t a word for how we felt. He was killed instantly and they later realized that he was drunk. That was likely why he was in the middle of the entrance ramp on the highway. But that didn’t matter… it was still a life and something I will never forget.
We were pretty much there all night while they investigated. They later cleaned off my windshield and put the bumper in the back of my Blazer. I had to drive that car back home with my catatonic boyfriend in the passenger seat. A very long silent drive…
We get back to my apartment and almost immediately my mom calls and says “what’s wrong?” She said that she had been up making coffee since about midnight. Which is almost exactly when the wreck happened, and she just knew something was wrong. My parents drove up to take care of us, which we desperately needed. They also told my boyfriend how happy they were that he was driving my car and taking care of me.
I don’t think death is anything to be afraid of… It is going back home.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.