You know how they say, when you're dying, your entire life flashes before your eyes? Well, I had a similar experience this past Labor Day weekend. Only, it wasn't my life flashing before my eyes. It was my daughter's.
It's amazing to think that in a span of seconds, memories that span almost four and a half years can flip through your mind. Images of the sweet little girl (that blessed little girl, after three boys) in her mother's arms at the hospital. Images of her sitting in her bouncer just smiling up at her daddy as she played quietly. Thoughts of how, as a baby, she would wake up in the middle of the night and only be calmed by Daddy cradling her against his chest on the couch. Images of her taking her first steps. Thoughts of her "hugs around the neck" and the exuberant delight that she had in sharing them. Thoughts of her gentle kisses on my cheeks as she climbed, sleepily, into her bed at night. Thoughts of her laughter as she was spun around the pool just earlier that afternoon.
All of that flashed through my mind's eye in the time it took me to travel fifty feet. That's the distance from my father-in-law's chair in his den to the far side of his pool. See, my daughter had decided that she was going to ignore the rules, and get in the pool without an adult with her. She's tall enough that she can stand in the shallow end and have her head above water. Well, she was playing with a little toy boat and it started drifting along the wall towards the deep end of the pool. She managed to stay on the edge of the pool where the water is the same depth as the shallow end. Once she reached the far side of the pool, she slipped and went under the water.
I thank God that my wife's uncle chanced to look over there at that moment. The dear man jumped into the pool to save her, even though he can barely swim himself. I also thank God that my wife's cousin is also a certified lifeguard and responded faster than I could. If not for these two men, my life today could be very different than it was that Saturday morning.
Fortunately, my sweet, bright little girl remembered everything that we'd taught her and her brothers about swimming underwater. As soon as she felt herself going under the water, she grabbed her nose, closed her eyes and held her breath. This right here is what gave us the time to get to her and help her.
My wife, bless her heart, heard a comment from her aunt ("Is she dead?") as we were laying her on the diving board to check her out. She (my wife) actually handled it better than I would have expected. She got upset, and worried and only a little hysterical. Many mothers would've completely gone off the deep end (no pun intended). Needless to say, we have taken a little extra time with our (extra) precious little angel over the last several days.
Ever since this happened, I've been beating myself up, trying to figure out what I could've done to have prevented this. There were several adults outside with her. When I got out of the pool (I was the last adult out), I made sure that she came out of the pool with me. She had been playing with her brothers in the yard. Between one moment and the next, she decided that she'd get back in the pool and play with the boat. She's been outside there playing, a lot. Our children are blessed with grandparents nearby and get to see them on a regular basis. Every other time that she's been outside, she's respected the rules and stayed away from the pool. I'm not the kind of father to chain his kids into one place and not allow them to have any fun, especially in an environment where they are (so I think) safe and familiar with the rules and expected behaviors.
Anyways, I think now, I'm going to go upstairs, and peek in on my darling little girl and give her one more good night kiss. And then again in the morning (just to make sure that she's okay). I'm entitled to a little overanxious paranoia, now. Aren't I?