BUCKING THE SYSTEM: ACCIDENT PUTS EXPECTANT MOTHER UNDER 'HOUSE ARREST,' ON LEAVE

November has been a month of many expectations for me. A special celebration for Patrick and me, the arrival of our second child and the beginning of the holiday season were only a few of the things I've been eagerly anticipating this month.

The last thing I expected was the car accident I was involved in last week.

The accident was all the more unnerving because of my expectant state. Thankfully, no one was injured, although Baby Buck gave me a scare when all the commotion put him to sleep for a time. He later awoke, however, thanks to some buzzing device the hospital staff had on hand, and he's been responding well ever since.

Even so, my doctor felt it better to be safe than sorry, so I've been on forced house arrest since the accident. Anyone who knows me knows this is the last place I want or even need to be.

Put simply, I cannot sit still. I've always been one of those people who thrived on activity. In high school, I managed to maintain an A average while participating in varsity athletics, numerous extracurricular clubs, the school's gifted program and a host of church and community activities.

Although my grades dropped in college because I didn't have a host of legitimate activities to keep me organized, I regained my perspective and my edge afterwards when I busied myself in professional and civic activities.

I nearly lost it on the first day of my confinement. I called every person I could remember a telephone number for, some of them twice. Each was forced to listen to me gnash my teeth and bemoan my imprisonment, even as I discussed the aches and pains I experienced in the accident.

I was miserable. There I was, Tamara the Unstoppable, felled not by childbirth, but a lowly accident that didn't even cause my airbag to deploy. It was inconceivable to me that the woman who planned to work until her water broke and complete the story before going to the hospital would have to sit in her house for better than a week with nothing to do.

That's when I started counting my blessings. I reminded myself that I or Baby Buck could easily have been seriously injured in the accident. And while I'm again in a deficit situation with a car that's been totaled but won't yield what I still owe on it, at least I and the other driver were both insured and walked away from the accident.

And although I'm confined to the house and am no longer out conquering worlds in my daily quest for truth and news, at least I can still prepare myself and my home for our family's new addition.

You know, it's easy to sit and complain about how bad things are when in truth they aren't really that bad at all. But it takes real courage to look for the good in a bad situation.

So now I've stopped my complaining and am trying to enjoy my unexpected maternity leave. Heck, I've even managed to do a little nesting in between much-needed naps, and my family is really pleased with the cooking and cleaning that have resulted.

Who knows, if I stay in this frame of mind much longer, I might even be able to motivate Patrick into tackling the leaf pile that is my front yard.

Well, I can dream, can't I?

~Tamara Zellars Buck is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.