There wasn't even a splash

Those of us who live in Arizona hear about it every summer, drownings.  Mostly these are children under the age of 5, usually in a backyard pool.  The parents lament, I only looked away for a second, just a few seconds.  Unfortunately that's all it takes.  I learned this first hand last summer.  It was around 10am and my son Samuel had gone down for a nap, so my daughter Anna (then 2 1/2) and I donned our bathing suites and headed to the pool.  Before stepping outside I lathered her fair skin up with sunscreen, put her hat on and handed her an otter pop.  I grabbed my cell phone and the baby monitor and slung the towels over my shoulder.

I unlocked the patio door and together we stepped to the pool gate.  It was hot and we were ready to get in the cool water. I unlocked the pool gate and closed it behind us.  Our pool is a kidney-shaped pool with a built-in jacuzzi in the bend, the jacuzzi being closest to the gate.  Beside our pool is one of those shatterproof glass tables that you can set your drink on as you lounge in your sun chair.  I keep this little table right by the jacuzzi and as usual I turned to place my phone and the monitor on the table.  From my peripheral vision I saw with horror as Anna walked right into the jacuzzi, otter pop in her mouth, no floatie!  Silence.  There wasn't even a splash.  Had I not seen her go in I would not have heard her go in.  I dropped everything in my hand and still wearing the towels and my flip flops I bound into the jacuzzi.  Anna wasn't even attempting to get to the surface.  She was standing, at the bottom of the jacuzzi, otter pop clutched in her hand.  I grabbed her and pulled her up expecting her to gasp, sputter, spit up water, however she just looked at me in confusion, eyes wide.  Fortunately she had not been underwater long enough to gasp for air and fill her lungs with water.  The cold stark reality is that my daughter was seconds from drowning that day.  What if I hadn't been standing next to the pool?  What if I had gone back to the patio to grab something?  What if I had answered a phone call and had my back to the pool chatting away? It makes my stomach turn to think of what could have happened as I was standing right next to the pool.  It also makes me far more forgiving and empathetic to those poor parents who have been distracted, who were sure they'd hear a splash, that their child would struggle to reach the surface, calling for help, those parents who realized to their horror, that one second was one second too long.

I never take my eyes off my kids now, ever.  Never, NEVER take it for granted that your child will not go into the pool with out their floatie on.  NEVER take it for granted that you will hear them fall in.  NEVER take it for granted that you'll only take a second to grab that _________ .   My friends and family know me, they know I am an extremely protective, watchful mother.  If it can happen to me IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU...IN A SECOND.

I found a very good resource about the statistics and myths regarding drownings, you can check it out here.  I am posting this because I want every parent to know that it's not just absentee parents who find their children in the pool.  It can happen to the best of us.  Please for the love of your children, always watch them around water.  What ever it is that is begging your attention... it can wait.  You can always call someone back.  You can't bring your child back.  It's as simple as that.

Click the link:  http://sierrasaccoalition.org/pdfs/water_safety_08.pdf

God Bless!