well, i traced my connection to the great michael dwyer.

[mopinko]

15. i get those feelings too.

at my niece's wedding, we all stayed in one hotel. prolly 50 of us. afterwards, we came back after the festivities, and the kids all jumped in the pool. no lifeguard, prolly 20 kids in a small pool.

only had 3 at the time, and the eldest wasnt there. the 2 were only 5 and 7.
the 7 yo was a super shy, timid kid, but he had gotten to know all these cousins and was in the pool. he couldnt swim, but he was paddling around, hanging on to a soccer ball.
i got the feeling. not about both of them, about him. i looked around and found him in the middle of the pool. the deep end.
he was fine when i looked and a couple seconds later, he lost his grip and went under.
jumped in fully clothed and had him before he could hit the bottom.

now, the pool was crowded. none of the other kids saw him go under, and even if they had, the adults were drunk, loud, and paying no attention. they would have had a hell of a time getting anyone's attention.
in fact, they were so absorbed that virtually no one saw me jump in, nor noticed us walking put to get dry clothes.

i cant say if he would have died, but there sure would have been a 911 call.

and here i was, hero mom, and no one even saw me.

his little brother also nearly drown and i had to pull him out, but i was watching that one. walking in the forest preserve and he tried to walk out onto thin ice. only 2. i could easily have been distracted there, tho. but i wasnt. if he had gone all the way under, well, the pond was covered in ice.

i'm sure we could have some great chats. i love telling stories. my fave gift of all the many my da gave me. he was the best i ever heard at telling stories and jokes.