I remember the day I almost died. Actually, as bumbling as I was a as a kid, it was probably just one of many days I almost died. This one involves other people, so it stands out more, I guess.
It was the summer before 3rd grade, so I would have been, um, let’s see, eight. We had a real live swimming pool in our backyard, in-ground and everything. A girl I knew in first grade but who had moved away came over with her mother for an afternoon of swimming and fun. It became an afternoon of terror! Okay, maybe a little overly dramatic.
All started off well enough. We swam around the shallow end, played games, dove for coins. Then we decided to race across the pool. She knew how to swim, I swear she did. But she must have panicked when she realized her feet wouldn’t touch bottom. In her panic, she crawled on my back like I was going to become magically buoyant and float her back to the shallow end.
Instead, I sank. But on the plus side, I do think I had enough buoyancy to keep her head above water. Problem was, now mine was underwater. I remember thinking, I don’t think I can hold my breath this long. Then, boy, I’d love to take a breath right about now. Lastly, everything turning a really pretty cool shade of blue.
Next thing I remember is waking up in the lounge chair.
But many more exciting things had taken place between the pretty blue color and the lounge chair.
My mother, who couldn’t swim, jumped in thinking she could hold on to the edge of the pool while pulling my friend off me. She was wrong, and was pulled out to the middle of the deep end where she promptly sank.
My sister heard the commotion and being the trained lifeguard that she was, jumped in to assist in the rescue. Sounds good, but in reality she only came out to see what was going on because she thought we’d thrown her cat in the pool. I have no idea why she thought we’d do such a thing, but I guess it’s fortunate that she thought so little of us or otherwise she would have stayed inside watching “All My Children”.
My friend’s mom was a nurse, and she also jumped in, fully clothed. My mom says the main thing she remembers about that day is that the woman had just come from the hair salon and had to get her new hairdo ruined. Yes, that’s her vivid memory, not that her youngest child was dying.
Everyone was fished out of the pool, given mouth-to-mouth as needed, and I must have awakened and gone to the chair, although I remember none of that.
In my mother’s defense, as afraid of water as she is, she encouraged me to get back in the pool, and I did. I would probably have an incurable fear of water if I hadn’t. But I do have an incurable fear of being dunked, which was difficult as a teenager when flirting consisted of punching a girl in the arm and dunking.
What does this story have to do with anything? I not sure it does, but it’s my earliest memory of being in danger. It was something so scary that didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. I’m sure if it happened now, I’d hide under the bed for days.
It was the summer before 3rd grade, so I would have been, um, let’s see, eight. We had a real live swimming pool in our backyard, in-ground and everything. A girl I knew in first grade but who had moved away came over with her mother for an afternoon of swimming and fun. It became an afternoon of terror! Okay, maybe a little overly dramatic.
All started off well enough. We swam around the shallow end, played games, dove for coins. Then we decided to race across the pool. She knew how to swim, I swear she did. But she must have panicked when she realized her feet wouldn’t touch bottom. In her panic, she crawled on my back like I was going to become magically buoyant and float her back to the shallow end.
Instead, I sank. But on the plus side, I do think I had enough buoyancy to keep her head above water. Problem was, now mine was underwater. I remember thinking, I don’t think I can hold my breath this long. Then, boy, I’d love to take a breath right about now. Lastly, everything turning a really pretty cool shade of blue.
Next thing I remember is waking up in the lounge chair.
But many more exciting things had taken place between the pretty blue color and the lounge chair.
My mother, who couldn’t swim, jumped in thinking she could hold on to the edge of the pool while pulling my friend off me. She was wrong, and was pulled out to the middle of the deep end where she promptly sank.
My sister heard the commotion and being the trained lifeguard that she was, jumped in to assist in the rescue. Sounds good, but in reality she only came out to see what was going on because she thought we’d thrown her cat in the pool. I have no idea why she thought we’d do such a thing, but I guess it’s fortunate that she thought so little of us or otherwise she would have stayed inside watching “All My Children”.
My friend’s mom was a nurse, and she also jumped in, fully clothed. My mom says the main thing she remembers about that day is that the woman had just come from the hair salon and had to get her new hairdo ruined. Yes, that’s her vivid memory, not that her youngest child was dying.
Everyone was fished out of the pool, given mouth-to-mouth as needed, and I must have awakened and gone to the chair, although I remember none of that.
In my mother’s defense, as afraid of water as she is, she encouraged me to get back in the pool, and I did. I would probably have an incurable fear of water if I hadn’t. But I do have an incurable fear of being dunked, which was difficult as a teenager when flirting consisted of punching a girl in the arm and dunking.
What does this story have to do with anything? I not sure it does, but it’s my earliest memory of being in danger. It was something so scary that didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. I’m sure if it happened now, I’d hide under the bed for days.
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