Looking up from watching your youngest son standing in three feet of water by himself in the “big kid pool” and seeing the raft that your eldest son was on empty…and no sign of him anywhere.
A second later he surfaced, coughing and choking, desperately kicking and trying to reach the edge of the pool about a foot away. Down he went again. My heart in my throat, I ran to the other side of the pool to the 5 foot area. As I approached, he reached the wall and, almost upon him, another neighbor reached down to grab him by the hand and pull him out of the pool.
Shaken, crying uncontrollably, and coughing as though he were taking his last breath, he sank to the lounge chair and softly said, “I was so scared Mom. I thought I was going to die.”
“Do you want to go home?”
“No, I can’t walk right now. I’m too scared.”
I held him as close as I could without making him feel like a baby, mindful that all his friends were watching, while my heart beat 10,000 beats a minute. It felt as though it were ready to just jump out of my chest and take a dive in the pool. I’m sure his heart was doing the same thing.
So now, I’ve been able to talk him into allowing his “silly mom” into showing him how to do the doggie paddle and some basic swim strokes so there won’t be a repeat of today’s incident.
I’ve hugged him more times in the past few hours then I have all week I think. He doesn’t seem to mind though. He’s been hugging me right back. We both hold tight and just sigh.
And realize just how very lucky he was today.
