Overwhelmed

There was an incident Monday (March 17) that has me overwhelmed with gratitude. It was one of the worst 30 seconds I've experienced, but maybe there were some things I needed to learn. And believe me, lesson learned. It's hard for me to think about without getting emotional, but it's something I wanted written down.

Cindy and her kids decided to come up for the day and visit. It's been so fun living somewhat closer to where we can have play dates every once in a while. There was a 'Mommy and Kid' swimming thing at the aquatic center and we wanted to go. The pool was only open to kids ages 8 and under and their parents.

Will and Blake were in heaven. Will was running around the indoor playground, going down the slide, swimming, and just having a great time. Blake was enjoying it just as much. She did not want to be held, but the water was a little too deep to just let her loose. She loved just to float on her back. That girl needs some swimming lessons, cause I think she would do great.

While we were there, we ran into my friend Raegan and her little girl Penny (who is about a year older than Will). At one point we all went over to the Lazy River to float around. In the middle of the lazy river is a little circle sitting area. The water is about 3-4 feet deep, but there is a bench going around the circle to sit on. I was just sitting there holding Blake, while Will would walk back and forth across the bench.

While Cindy was taking her kids to the restroom, Raegan and I started talking. We were sitting there talking, when we noticed Penny was floating toward the middle of the circle, acting a little weird. Raegan asked her what was wrong, and that's when we noticed Will floating face down in the water. My heart stopped. He didn't seem to be moving, and I had no idea how long he had been under.

I got to him within a few seconds. The instant his face got out of the water, he threw up. The first time, he threw up what seemed like half of the pool. After that, he lost a little bit of his breakfast. Once he was done throwing up, he was ok, but seemed to be in shock. He was breathing, but had no color. Slowly, his color started coming back and he started talking to me about how he "fell into the water". As I sat there with him, my whole body was shaking and I was just trying to maintain my composure. It all happened so fast, there wasn't much time to think about what was happening. But after we were sitting there for a minute, the full reality of the situation started to sink in. Even that night, I had a really hard time sleeping because I couldn't stop thinking about it and what MIGHT have happened.

I am so incredible grateful that things didn't turn out any worse. I am grateful that he immediately threw up, and that I wasn't forced to do CPR on my 2 year old. I am so grateful that Penny noticed something was wrong and that she was trying to help. I am grateful that I had support nearby, willing to help out as needed.

I think all parents are aware how quickly disaster can happen. You keep watch over your kids 99% of the time, but that instant that you look away, something happens. The hardest thing is knowing that I could have prevented it. I got distracted by a rare moment of adult conversation and wasn't paying attention like I should have been. It's really hard not to feel guilty and like a terrible mom. If things would have turned out worse, I'm not sure how I could have ever faced Lance. It was hard enough telling Lance what I had allowed to happen.

I learned a lot of things in those few minutes. I wont let this scare us away from water, but we will definitely take more precautions when we are around it. I am excited to get both kids life-jackets and think it's about time I put them in swimming lessons. I've been wanting to do it since Will was a baby, so I think it's about time.

Will can drive me crazy, but he's my little buddy and I love him to death. He is so smart and the things he says just amazes me daily. I am so lucky to be his mom and to be a part of his life. I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father for all the blessings he has given me and want to live my best to deserve them.