i crashed our beautiful car

I still can't quite believe I did it.

On Monday I crashed our beautiful new car into the fence post that marks the top of our driveway. I know. It was a horrible shock! I've been avoiding writing about it in the hope the whole thing will just, I don't know, go away.

But it hasn't. The big dent in the bumper bar, and the smashed brake light are still gazing dolefully out at me. Sigh.

I've never crashed a car in my life. Well... there was a little encounter with a bus when I was a new driver. I kind of ran under the back of it. But the driver didn't even notice, and since it only left a tiny little dent in the bonnet and a miniscule scratch in the paint work I don't count that as a crash. And there was the time I asked Mum if I had space to turn in the tightest car park in Newcastle. She said yes and I promptly ran into the car parked beside us. But that wasn't my fault, so I don't count that either.

Certainly I've never made an insurance claim in my life, so it's all been rather mortifying. Such a classic girl thing to do - back into the fence post!

It's not that I'm a bad driver... I actually pride myself on my driving skills. I just didn't look! I was tired and running late. So I jumped in the car, threw it into reverse and put the foot down. I have vague recollections of gloating over the low mileage on the clock, wondering if the (six stack) CD player (I love that thing) was working properly, and turning to check my progress just as I felt a big jolt.

Bother.

I sheepishly went inside to tell Frank (he thought I was joking) before rushing off to my appointment. I was a bit worried about what he would say actually. He still uses our old car most of the time, so I thought there might be some recriminations about using the posh car to duck around town, maybe a mild berating for being careless (a charge I cannot deny), perhaps a bit of anger (I would have been furious if I hadn't done it myself). But no... when I came home there was the sweetest note (on scented paper no less) on the bench saying that a dent in the car couldn't dent our relationship. I've said it before and I'll say it again - my husband is the sweetest man on earth.

Unfortunately his kindness has done little to allay the mortification I felt on phoning the insurance company ('uh, I reversed into a fence post'), visiting the smash repair man ('uh, I reversed into a fence post') and driving around in the company of immaculate, dent free Foresters ('uh, I reversed into a fence post'). The shame of it all! To add insult to injury, when I tried to reverse out of the smash repair workshop this morning, the assessor practically ran out of the office in order to steer me carefully away from any solid objects! I might have fulfilled his female driver stereotype... but I can still drive. (Truth be told I was having a little trouble... the Forester is so much bigger than our little Corolla)

(Of particular interest to me was the magazine rack full of women's magazines in the smash repair office... what are they saying about the type of people who crash their cars???)

Anyway, in a little while the bumper bar will be replaced, the car will be fixed. 'Lucky' from the insurance company called this evening to confirm they will cover the cost of the repairs. (I feel his name is a little inappropriate) My oh-so-female faux par will soon be little more than a dim memory. In my opinion that can't happen soon enough!