Not like what you think.
I almost drowned when I was five.
I swam like a little fish by that age. Jumped or dove in fearlessly.
This time, I fell off the end of the dock.
I still remember tumbling upside-down, the sensation of breathing water into my lungs and hearing myself cough underwater.
I couldn't stand up. I couldn't get my bearings because I didn't know where "up" was. I couldn't get to the surface to take a breath. I couldn't reach up to grab hold of anything in order to pull myself back on the dock.
My grandmother was sitting a few feet away. Probably knitting or reading a book.
If my grandmother hadn't seen me, if she hadn't come to the end of the dock and hauled my little tush back up, I wouldn't be writing this today.
Drowning looks like THIS.
Read it, remember it.
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4 comments:
That's so scary! Thank goodness your grandmother was on the ball.
Thanks for the PSA. :)
I almost drown when I was very young. My first year as a Girl Scout. We were doing our swimming badges. I had no clue what I was doing, couldn't swim. Nevertheless, the instructor felt I needed to jump into 12 feet of water and learn that way.
I didn't.
I sank.
Pretty much vertically and unable to tell anyone what was going on. If it wasn't for the boy's coach, I probably wouldn't be here now.
I made sure my girls can swim and that they understand water safety, but to this day, I still won't even get my face wet in the shower. Thank heaven for the newer disposable face wash cloths that don't require water or rinsing! Best thing since sliced bread.
I'm sure glad you're still here too!
thank you.
EEEK! You have a fabulous blog! I'm your newest follower. I want to award you with one of my homemade awards: Powerful Woman Writer Award for all the hard work you do!
Go to http://astorybookworld.blogspot.com/p/awards.html and pick up your award.
~Deirdra
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