I can’t tell you how happy I am my guardian angel rarely takes a coffee break. I’m guessing many angels lack sleep because mine seems to always be on duty, and for that I’m eternally grateful. I’m fairly certain, however, that I frustrate her, especially when I don’t heed her warnings.

For instance, a few years back I was driving in freeway traffic where the speed in which we were moving amounted to crawling at roughly 20 mph. In my boredom, I reached over to retrieve something from the passenger seat. And at that moment a strange feeling came over me and, like someone whispering into my ear, I heard, “Janet, pay attention.” So I looked up, a bit too late, and bumped into the car in front of me. Fortunately, since we were crawling, my bumper only slightly dented his.

Anyway, my guardian angel tried to warn me so I only slightly blame her for not being quicker at alerting me of my negligence. Perhaps she was napping. But I hold no grudge. I think my mom may be my guardian angel since she was an angel on earth, so why not be one in heaven? To me she was perfect.

Mom had a great guardian angel herself, who was with her in her late teens (before seat belts) when the car she was in with 2 friends flipped and rolled 3 times before coming to rest right side up. Mom was miraculously unscathed but sadly her friends were injured.

Mom died 20 years ago. She would have turned 94 on Christmas Eve. Loretta Rose was one of the kindest, sweetest, most loving and giving people I’ve ever known. How lucky was I to have been her daughter for 49 years? Now don’t get me wrong; she’s with me still, especially when I’m about to be in trouble. Always on duty, that one.

That brings me to my almost-brush-with-death a couple of weeks ago. I was heading up north to meet my friend, also named Loretta. It wasn’t quite dark yet on the drive, but for some reason I had an uneasy feeling being on the road. So I paid more attention to the cars around me, gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, and arrived safe and sound.

A couple hours later I was headed home. As I entered the freeway, I easily merged in behind a large, older vehicle going slow as molasses in January. (Or December, in this case.) So I decided to pass this vehicle that traveled 20 mph slower than the speed limit (precisely 20 mph slower than I prefer).

But then, as I was passing from the middle lane, the car abruptly swerved into mine. Was he having a medical emergency? In a split second, with no time to break, I swerved into the fast lane, hoping it wasn’t occupied. But it was. Somehow that driver managed to swerve without crashing into the cement divider. We all continued driving and I noticed the slow as molasses car was back in the slow lane.

I was so startled, in disbelief that none of us were killed, that I drove in a daze until I realized the Bruno Mars – Lady Gaga song, Die With A Smile, was on the radio. (I can attest I wouldn’t have been smiling.) The line I remember most is, nobody’s promised tomorrow. Ain’t that the truth. I called Loretta to tell her what just happened but not before I thanked my guardian angel for always being on duty.

Happy Birthday, Mom.