Okay, it was scary.
But it turned out all right . . .
Our family have always been swimmers.
Our children are introduced to the
water soon after they arrive.
And spend copious amounts of time
there.
When we take a holiday, our choice of
hotel is always based on whether or not it has a pool.
On to my story . . .
We were in Great Falls with my Husby's
eldest brother and his family.
We had a favourite hotel there.
With *gasp*
two pools.
The main pool was popular.
And usually busy.
We had decided to gather beside the
smaller pool.
Adults, visiting.
Kids, playing.
Because we grown-ups hadn't planned on
swimming, my Husby put on his suit under protest.
But I insisted.
At least one adult needed to be
prepared.
We went down.
And spent a pleasant half-hour talking
and laughing.
Now I should explain, here, that this
smaller pool had one major draw-back.
It really wasn't made with children in
mind.
It was roughly circular in shape.
And was shallow at the outer edges.
And deep in the middle.
I know. Weird.
Moving on . . .
Our oldest boy, aged four, was playing
happily with his cousins in the shallows.
The kids were shouting and giggling and
generally making 'happy' sounds and our oldest nephew, aged six, was
keeping up a continuous dialogue of, “Mom! Dad! Look at this!”
His parents had tuned him out.
Something I simply couldn't do.
And for which I am eternally grateful.
“Mom!” he shouted.
I turned and looked at him.
“Mark's down there!” he said,
pointing toward the centre of the pool.
My Husby looked at me.
“Get him!” I shouted.
He jumped in and an instant later, came
up with our little boy.
For a few seconds, Mark coughed and
gasped.
Then cried.
And just like that, our swim was over
for the day.
We left the next morning, everyone well
and happy, and completely unaware of the psychological damage that
had been done.
A few days later, we took our family
down to the river to our favourite swimming hole.
Though the water came no higher than
his ankles, Mark refused to put one foot into the river.
Odd.
Later, we went to the local swimming
pool for what had always been our favourite Saturday evening
activity.
Mark, our fish, clung to the ladder and
screamed.
Okay, something was definitely wrong.
For the next few months, every time we
tried to go swimming, it was the same.
People splashing around.
Mark sitting as far from the water as
he could get.
Hmmmm.
A year passed.
Without much change.
Then our family moved to Edmonton.
Within hours of getting settled, my
Husby discovered the local rec centre.
And their 'wave pool'.
Sounded intriguing.
What on earth was a wave pool?
We packed up the kids and went to
investigate.
It turned out that a wave pool was just
that.
A pool.
With waves.
For fifteen minutes, the water was
calm.
Smooth.
Then a horn would blow and the waves
would start.
Small, at first, then growing in size
until they were . . . significant.
Mark had been paddling in the
ankle-deep water at the shallow end.
A big step for him.
The horn sounded.
He looked up.
And stared at the wall of water coming
toward him.
Okay, it wasn't a wall.
Maybe more of a . . . fence?
Well, maybe a median.
But it was definitely coming toward
him.
We watched as he considered his
options.
Then, to our surprise, he dropped to
his knees and . . . let the wave roll over him.
And just like that, his fear was gone.
Our fish was back.
There is a codicil:
Mark is married now, and the father of
four.
Several times a week, he takes his
family swimming.
It is their favourite activity.
Every time they appear with wet hair and faces glowing with exercise and happiness, I give thanks for the therapeutic properties of waves.
Aaahh! Therapy! |
I almost drowned when I was nine, it took me until I was thirteen to get over the fear, now I love swimming. I totally understand the fear that your son had, I am glad he got over it:)
ReplyDeleteThank goodness he got over his fear.
ReplyDeleteWe remember every moment, every small detail of the time when we almost lost our child. I still.have dreams of mine and it happened 36 years ago. A minute can change everything. We were very fortunate that everything turned out OK also.
ReplyDeleteIt could have gone either way ... glad he embraced the wave!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young (maybe 9?) I loved the water. Then I wasn't around it for a few years, and when I went back, I had a fear of it that remains to this day, even though I've tried to overcome it with "Scared Stiff" classes. Nothing happened, at least nothing that I remember. Obviously my brain chose the other option :)
an experience like that could be traumatizing. It is important to teach kids not to panic. In a pool they can always walk/crawl out.
ReplyDeleteWe had swimming lessons and I never learned until some wise guy kid pushed me off the high diving board. I learned fast then.lol
You had that whole thing planned out from the beginning. Everyone knows how to push their siblings buttons.
ReplyDelete