It Can't Happen to Me

Think of how many times you've said either out loud or to yourself: "It can't happen to me." I say it all the time. You see somebody who has a fire or gets into a car accident. "Oh, that will never happen to me." Well, it did happen to me and my family.
I've been working on putting more hard-hitting, interesting stuff on the page. I was all set to do a post about my grandfather who is not in very good health and how I made a virtual tour of our new house because I'm scared he'll never see it in person. In that post was going to be how lucky I am to be able to make my grandpa smile and how great it felt. Instead, I got a call from my dad saying that my aunt (his sister) was killed by a drunk driver. You see it all the time on TV, and, if you're like me, it makes you think twice when you are at the bar and have to drive home. You think about the story you saw on TV and how you don't want to end up like that. Now, I don't need the TV, because it's a family story.
My aunt was the "rebel" child of the family. She was a homosexual that moved away and rarely looked back. We didn't think less of her, she was just different than everyone else in the family. We still loved her. She ended up in Florida with her "friend". They visited every now and then, but we still didn't get to see them often enough.
On Wednesday night, a man crossed the center line as they were driving home. He hit my aunt and her friend head on. My aunt is dead, but her friend is still alive.
Do I hate the man? No, I don't (I do not speak for the rest of my family, though). Right now we are in more of a shock because we are so far removed. I am a firm believer in everything happens for a reason. I know that what happened on that Florida highway Wednesday night was destined to happen. It is a life altering event for all of us. My grandmother has now lost her husband to cancer and her daughter to a drunk driver. My dad and uncle have lost a sister. In our family, it is not out of the ordinary for all of us to drink, so we now must think twice because of the destiny that has fallen over us. I am not mad at the man, I just hope and pray that what he is going through leads him to a better life. I would love to see him speaking to children about the dangers of drinking and driving. I want him to look the children in the eye, to make sure it gets to them, that it can happen to them.