Saturday was a pretty hot day here in Houston. The Hubbie and I decided to take the kids for a swim in our pool in the backyard. Blondie, 8, is an excellent swimmer, but Red, 3 (pictured left) and the Little Monster, 2, still have to wear their arm floaties. We're pretty frequent swimmers, and made the worse mistake you could as parents, we let our guard down.
Everyone says drowning is the "silent death", you never hear the splash. Well, my Hubbie and I can now relate to the silence, but thankfully not to the death.
While we were all swimming together in the shallow end (about 4 ft), L.M. (Little Monster) decided to get out of the pool. She normally does this, as does Red and Blondie. They get out, play with their toys on the deck, and then jump back in. Well, this time, L.M. decided to go sit on a chair on the deck. I turned back to talk to my hubbie when I heard Red yelling, "Mommy, sissy took her floaties off!"
In what felt like hours, but really only seconds, I turned and looked at the chair where L.M. was sitting just seconds before. Sure enough, on the chair were her floaties, but not her. I began scanning the deck and the pool but couldn't find her. Panic was beginning to settle in when I looked over and saw little Red. There he was, my little red-headed boy, treading water with one float-covered arm, and holding his sister above the water with the other. He was struggling, but succeeding, with a look of determination on his face.
L.M. had taken her floaties off and jumped in the pool - all without so much as a splash. She jumped near Red, who saw she had no floaties on and somehow, by some miracle, managed to grab her before she sunk straight to the bottom. He then yelled at me, and all the while, grabbed her by the back of the neck and kept her and himself afloat until I reached them. Like I said, all this took place all under a minute, but it felt like hours!
L.M. received a big hug of relief, but then had to sit on the side of the pool (with her floaties on) as a punishment and some very stern words from her dad. I had to stop him from giving her a spanking (we'd had enough drama for the moment). Red has told everyone the story of how he "saved his little sister". We rewarded him for his brave heroics and quick thinking. His Great Grandmother rewarded him with a nice Medal at our traditional Sunday lunch, and his Dad and I let him get a new toy from the store.
You don't realize how quick things can happen, and you just assume if it does happen, you'll hear it. I thank God over and over that Red was there, I can't bare to think what would have happened if he wasn't. Most 4 year olds wouldn't have the instinct or ability to do what he did. He really is our family superhero. For someone who's role models include Spider-Man, Batman, Super Man and The Power Rangers what more would you expect?
Everyone says drowning is the "silent death", you never hear the splash. Well, my Hubbie and I can now relate to the silence, but thankfully not to the death.
While we were all swimming together in the shallow end (about 4 ft), L.M. (Little Monster) decided to get out of the pool. She normally does this, as does Red and Blondie. They get out, play with their toys on the deck, and then jump back in. Well, this time, L.M. decided to go sit on a chair on the deck. I turned back to talk to my hubbie when I heard Red yelling, "Mommy, sissy took her floaties off!"
In what felt like hours, but really only seconds, I turned and looked at the chair where L.M. was sitting just seconds before. Sure enough, on the chair were her floaties, but not her. I began scanning the deck and the pool but couldn't find her. Panic was beginning to settle in when I looked over and saw little Red. There he was, my little red-headed boy, treading water with one float-covered arm, and holding his sister above the water with the other. He was struggling, but succeeding, with a look of determination on his face.
L.M. had taken her floaties off and jumped in the pool - all without so much as a splash. She jumped near Red, who saw she had no floaties on and somehow, by some miracle, managed to grab her before she sunk straight to the bottom. He then yelled at me, and all the while, grabbed her by the back of the neck and kept her and himself afloat until I reached them. Like I said, all this took place all under a minute, but it felt like hours!
L.M. received a big hug of relief, but then had to sit on the side of the pool (with her floaties on) as a punishment and some very stern words from her dad. I had to stop him from giving her a spanking (we'd had enough drama for the moment). Red has told everyone the story of how he "saved his little sister". We rewarded him for his brave heroics and quick thinking. His Great Grandmother rewarded him with a nice Medal at our traditional Sunday lunch, and his Dad and I let him get a new toy from the store.
You don't realize how quick things can happen, and you just assume if it does happen, you'll hear it. I thank God over and over that Red was there, I can't bare to think what would have happened if he wasn't. Most 4 year olds wouldn't have the instinct or ability to do what he did. He really is our family superhero. For someone who's role models include Spider-Man, Batman, Super Man and The Power Rangers what more would you expect?
1 comment:
Awww, good job Red. . brought tears to my eyes. . what an awesome big brother to L.M.
~angie
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