So this happened on my way to pick up my four-year-old twins from summer camp. Since I worked in insurance for eight years, I would like to tell you I was calm, cool, and collected. I was not. I was frazzled, worried about picking up the girls, and frustrated that my awesome one-year-old minivan just had the front bumper ripped off.
I was in the right lane stopped at a red light. When the light turned green, the older gentleman in the left lane turned right in front of my car. My honking and screaming did not slow the gentleman down as his car tore apart the front of my lovely minivan. Fortunately, no one was hurt and thank goodness the girls were not with me. I pulled my sad minivan into a bank parking lot and a kind witness came over to make sure the older gentleman and I were ok.
I quickly called the police and my husband, Tony. I then called the summer camp and told them about the accident and that we may be late picking up the girls. Suddenly, two tow trucks were in the lot lurking for business. Tony, pulled into the lot and we transferred the car seats. We swiftly swept up Doc McStuffin, Sofia the First, and other Disney dvds, favorite car toys, and other travel gear.
Tony left to pick up the twins while I called my insurance agent and asked about what to do next. This was a bit ironic with my insurance background. Through my role in public affairs I had worked on dozens of education campaigns on exactly what to do in an accident. But yet, in this moment, I was stressed out and unsure of the exact steps. The tow truck driver was trying to divert my attention and even told me to not call my insurance agent since it was clearly the other drivers fault.
My insurance agent’s office told me to call the claims number once I had the police report. The police arrived soon after and the heat was sweltering as the police officer took our statements and wrote his report. Once I had the police report, I went with the first tow truck company that had arrived on the scene. My super friendly tow truck guy assured me they worked with all the insurance companies and that it would probably only take about two and a half weeks to fix my minivan.
After driving 25 minutes away from my neighborhood, we arrived at a repair shop that was probably fine. My very helpful tow truck pal showed me the office and the receptionist and I called my insurance company. Tony arrived about the same time. I took the insurance company off the speaker phone and gave the professional claims agent my information. We discussed next steps. She explained about the auto repair companies that the insurance company already had existing relationships with and the benefits of working with those companies. Tony stepped in and wanted the claims professional to tell us what to do. Suddenly, in that hot office something clicked and I immediately remembered the many accident talking points I had written over the years, including shady tow practices. I interrupted Tony and explained that legally she could not tell us what to do. I clicked on my excellent insurance mobile app and scanned the list of repair shops. I found ABRA Auto Body & Glass, an outstanding repair shop that I had worked with in the past while in insurance. We made arrangements to have our minivan towed to ABRA. We had excellent customer service with ABRA and within a week had our minivan back.
I should have known exactly what do to immediately following an accident. But I did not. Life is messy.
And, because life is messy I wanted to start a blog. Now, I realize there already are millions of mom blogs but I wanted to be a part of these conversations and I wanted some of my friends and family to join me.
Why call our blog Messy Mommies in the City? We are mommies of kids of different ages, we all live in the city, and our lives can be messy. When I was much younger I thought there was a certain order of life such as you go to school, you have a job, you fall in love and get married, you have kids, you have hobbies, and make great dinners. Much later I realized that life is actually messy. I had wonderful jobs, moved around the country, fell in and out of love, really fell in love and married much later. I had help having my darling twins and am still trying to figure out how to make great dinners. I have come to realize that life can be super messy but if you look, there is so much joy in the mess. My friends and family have often helped me figure out the messiness of life. I know they will have great insights for you and that you will enjoy their stories too.
We hope you will stop by often and hope you find joy in every mess!
Meg
I was in the right lane stopped at a red light. When the light turned green, the older gentleman in the left lane turned right in front of my car. My honking and screaming did not slow the gentleman down as his car tore apart the front of my lovely minivan. Fortunately, no one was hurt and thank goodness the girls were not with me. I pulled my sad minivan into a bank parking lot and a kind witness came over to make sure the older gentleman and I were ok.
I quickly called the police and my husband, Tony. I then called the summer camp and told them about the accident and that we may be late picking up the girls. Suddenly, two tow trucks were in the lot lurking for business. Tony, pulled into the lot and we transferred the car seats. We swiftly swept up Doc McStuffin, Sofia the First, and other Disney dvds, favorite car toys, and other travel gear.
Tony left to pick up the twins while I called my insurance agent and asked about what to do next. This was a bit ironic with my insurance background. Through my role in public affairs I had worked on dozens of education campaigns on exactly what to do in an accident. But yet, in this moment, I was stressed out and unsure of the exact steps. The tow truck driver was trying to divert my attention and even told me to not call my insurance agent since it was clearly the other drivers fault.
My insurance agent’s office told me to call the claims number once I had the police report. The police arrived soon after and the heat was sweltering as the police officer took our statements and wrote his report. Once I had the police report, I went with the first tow truck company that had arrived on the scene. My super friendly tow truck guy assured me they worked with all the insurance companies and that it would probably only take about two and a half weeks to fix my minivan.
After driving 25 minutes away from my neighborhood, we arrived at a repair shop that was probably fine. My very helpful tow truck pal showed me the office and the receptionist and I called my insurance company. Tony arrived about the same time. I took the insurance company off the speaker phone and gave the professional claims agent my information. We discussed next steps. She explained about the auto repair companies that the insurance company already had existing relationships with and the benefits of working with those companies. Tony stepped in and wanted the claims professional to tell us what to do. Suddenly, in that hot office something clicked and I immediately remembered the many accident talking points I had written over the years, including shady tow practices. I interrupted Tony and explained that legally she could not tell us what to do. I clicked on my excellent insurance mobile app and scanned the list of repair shops. I found ABRA Auto Body & Glass, an outstanding repair shop that I had worked with in the past while in insurance. We made arrangements to have our minivan towed to ABRA. We had excellent customer service with ABRA and within a week had our minivan back.
I should have known exactly what do to immediately following an accident. But I did not. Life is messy.
And, because life is messy I wanted to start a blog. Now, I realize there already are millions of mom blogs but I wanted to be a part of these conversations and I wanted some of my friends and family to join me.
Why call our blog Messy Mommies in the City? We are mommies of kids of different ages, we all live in the city, and our lives can be messy. When I was much younger I thought there was a certain order of life such as you go to school, you have a job, you fall in love and get married, you have kids, you have hobbies, and make great dinners. Much later I realized that life is actually messy. I had wonderful jobs, moved around the country, fell in and out of love, really fell in love and married much later. I had help having my darling twins and am still trying to figure out how to make great dinners. I have come to realize that life can be super messy but if you look, there is so much joy in the mess. My friends and family have often helped me figure out the messiness of life. I know they will have great insights for you and that you will enjoy their stories too.
We hope you will stop by often and hope you find joy in every mess!
Meg
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