Darn Deer

We enjoyed a great family holiday visit in Chicago.  It was melancholy without dad, but there were plenty of moments we felt him nearby. Aunt Sue and cousin Liz took dad's flannel shirts to a lady in North Carolina who turned them into 'Lar-bears.' It's a sweet way to remember him.

Another favorite memory was being Ella's bunk bed buddy. We met Santa at the mall and he gave her reindeer food to set out on Christmas Eve. Eager to see if it was still there Christmas morning, my eyes squinted open at 6am to this scene - Ella peeking through the blinds to see if the food was gone.

Chicago was hecka cold - admittedly, I was a bit eager to come back to California's sunshine. Braving a snowstorm flight home, I decided I'd go to the beach for a run after work the next day. Following my run, I cruised La Honda's backroads at 50mph with my window down.

On my left side, out of the dusk, a lone deer pranced across the road.  I wasn't close to hitting him, but it did cause me to move my foot to the brake, just as I saw another deer in my peripheral. A split second decision, I could lay down the brakes and hit him on the hood, or maintain my cruise speed, hoping he'd hurdle my car. Choosing the later, I watched his head crush into the side mirror and heard his broken body crumple across my door. I'll never forget literally being eye-to-eye with the deer as his limp tongue hung from his mouth, his body rolling away.

I kept driving, a bit shaken, and with a missing mirror. A mile down the road, I regained my senses and decided to turn around, thinking I could find the mirror and reattach it. Returning to the dark scene, illuminated only by my headlights, I saw a limp figure in the center of the road.  Accidentally, I ran over my mirror, stopping to the sound of broken glass and skidding plastic.  (Ha! I'll get a new one off Amazon for $40).  Darn deer.

UPDATED: Here's my car pic - if you look close enough, you can just make out his spine mark and maybe a hoof print or two, a new mirror attached: