Monday night I was driving home and hit a raccoon on 66. There was no way I could have stopped, the moment I saw its furry stripes in my headlights, I was already hitting it. I freaked out, I have never so much as hit a squirrel in my life. I’m lucky it wasn’t a deer (or, a person), but I was still upset. After a bit of crying, I was ready to put it behind me.

Then I woke up and took a look at my front bumper. The front end is cracked and falling off, and there is a piece sticking out from under the bottom of my car. I took it to a body shop and they said that it looks like the air conditioning (something or other) is dented too. Could be anywhere from $1,200-$1,500 to repair.

Luckily, I have great insurance through USAA, so everything is covered (even my rental car should I need one) minus a small (relatively) deductible.

So, now when I’m driving late at night on the highway, I’m extra cautious. There have been a ton of deer on the road lately, and I’m really skittish of hitting something, anything. Even a leaf blowing across the road causes me to take another look. Which, can be a good thing and a bad thing. Hopefully my car won’t take long to fix, and I’ll eventually get over the fear of hitting something. I can’t always be afraid of things that go bump in the night.