I do so often know how close I get to calamity, and of course know all too well how your life can change in an instant. I see other people doing things and think .. if only you knew the risk you are taking by doing that….

This week I was going to Richmond. It was the evening so it was getting dark.
I was doing 28mph as I passed Kew Gardens on my right hand side.
There’s a traffic lights and a pedestrian crossing on Kew Road, and KG holds a lot of theme nights where families go. Lots of young parents with small children.

The traffic lights were green, my headlight was on ( and is very bright ) and I clearly had right of way. There were quite a few people waiting for the lights to change so they could cross over to the KG entrance on Kew Road.

As I got to the lights , two adults and a small child just walked into the road, EXACTLY as I got there. I didn’t have time to even make a noise.
I must have missed all 3 by just a few centimetres. I think I would have hit the little girl head on, and then taken out both parents.
All of us would have been injured and probably for them with life changing injuries.
The little girl would have been hit by the rubber and metal front of my Triride. I imagine she’d have quite possibly died.

What happened to looking left and right before you cross the road? Doesn’t having a small child with you make you far more cautious.

I think it’s a certainty that the couple in question will have nightmares… and won’t ever make that same mistake again.

I’ve just realised that i haven’t thought about this near disaster at all, since it almost happened. I had to think why that is. A little girl probably would have died in a collision with me only a few days ago and i haven’t thought about it at all.
Things that don’t happen i clearly just let go of so easily. Even bad things that DO happen I have to let go of in an unnaturally fast way. When you live all of the time with the consequences of a personal disaster, then you do have to adapt your thought process to be geared towards swiftly moving on, or you’d sink in negative thoughts.
I know all too well what that swamp is. I was drowning in it for what seemed like an eternity.
The only escape is to look at the glimmers of light and head towards those.
Doing that isn’t easily done, but if anyone is reading this that can relate, then it IS possible, so don’t give up.