Recently I have been taking the kiddos to Joella's community pool, as hers has a secluded baby pool, where ours doesn't. With the two of them out numbering me, I feel much safer there. When we went for the first time, a few weeks ago, the kids and I were the only ones there, and I immediately loved the lay out. There is a gate all around the pool, keeping it safe from the adult pool, and it is only a foot and a half deep, with a seat around the perimeter, with the center only getting as deep as 2 feet. The kids jump in and I pull up a chair, and start thinking about how, with all the
'safety' of it, the gate, the shallow water, that I wished I had brought the book I have been trying desperately to finish for the last month. As Mikah and Jett play, I hang out and watch them enjoy themselves, then about 20 minutes into it, I see Jett on the opposite side of the pool from me, fall forward off the seat in the water, his face goes under and he gulps in the water and starts to flail a bit, as he is wide eyed and scared, I think to myself,
surely he is going to just put his feet down and realize that he can touch, as I am thinking this, his head goes under again, back side still floating upward, and continues to flail... I quickly jump up and run to him, as I reach the middle of the pool, he does this a third time!!! By the time I reach him he has put his feet down and realized he can stand up. We are both scared to death and I pick him up and pull him out of the water to assure him all is well, while my heart is beating a million times a minute!!
I have always heard that a child could drown in just a few inches of water, that day I witnessed how possible and easy that truly is. I realized two things that day,
one, that the rule Mike and I have set, about not allowing our kids to swim with anyone, any where, unless one of
us is present (at least until they are proficient swimmers) is a wise rule, things just happen to quickly and easily to give that huge responsibility over to anyone but the two of us. The second thing I realized, is that I am probably never going to finish that darn book!
7 comments:
Scary as hell! Andrew pulled a stunt like that when we went camping with both of us right there. Recently a friend of mine offered to take Andrew and Bella to a neighborhood pool... No stinkin' way! I made up some excuse because I didn't want to make her feel like I didn't trust her, but if something can happen when you're watching your own kid, it sure can happen when others are.
And.... My darn blog list doesn't update and I just saw the video of Presley crawling. There is no word that describes how adorable she is. I seriously can't stand it.
BTW, were my kids in your house when you filming that, LOL
Very good reminder...thanks!!! My older two are very proficient swimmers but still, you should never take that water for granted. Cute pics!!! Yet another adorable smile pic of Presley. She is just truly blossoming!!!
that is so true. One day my boys were swimming with their grampa. I walked over for just a minute,I had Jaxson in my arms, and my five year old stepped off the step and couldn't touch. No one even noticed him. I had to reach down and pull him out. Every since then they don't swim unless me or daddy is there.
That is so true! I had to jump in not once, but twice when Jordan was little. Now, my heart always flutters when she is swimming, even though she swims well now. It is amazing how fast something can happen, even when we are right there.
Oh Kele, that is so scary! When I got to the end of your post I realized I was holding my breath - it's frightening to think about how dangerous just a little bit of water can be. Glad everyone is okay.
Wow, that's a scary reminder. I guess developmentally little kids just don't know they can stand up, or they just panic. Thanks for sharing.
Ok, my heart is beating super fast just reading your post!
On another note, that girl of yours has the most gorgeous smile! Look at her! Gorgeous!
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