If I do not have a stroke by the time that I am 40 it will be a miracle. My child has absolutely no fear, except for small dogs. He climbs anything that he can get his little knee or foot on for leverage. He hangs his body over any ledge. He even tries to go down the pool slide in the deep end with no flotation devices.
Our summer activities have revealed that Charlie loves swimming. He will typically stay on the steps where he can sit and play with his toys however, he occasionally gets an itch to jump up and try to jump into the pool. This is not a big deal when he has his flotation gear on, but his mischievous ideas come to him when he is not geared up.
He has been very good about not running by the pool and keeping his distance form the edge. Yesterday, not so much. He was quietly playing on the steps next to Mommy when he made his way out of the water and over to me about 4 feet away. He made a gesture as if he was going to jump into my arms in the shallow end when he darted for the slide. I am no Michael Phelps, but I can swim relatively fast. Relative to Charlie's running speed. I made my way to the slide in an effort to keep him from taking a plunge. He threw his leg over the edge of the slide and tried to slide down. I am now in the deep end of the pool, treading water, trying to hang on the edge all while holding Charlie on the slide.
I asked for help from the four other adults watching this take place, but I guess that they were all too comfortable to come to the rescue. Maybe they could not hear me since I was nearly drowning while performing my acrobatic skills? I did hear my mother say "Let him slide in." What? Let him slide in? It is 10 feet deep! Of course this was one of the moments that he was not geared up to float or I would have let him slide in.
Our summer activities have revealed that Charlie loves swimming. He will typically stay on the steps where he can sit and play with his toys however, he occasionally gets an itch to jump up and try to jump into the pool. This is not a big deal when he has his flotation gear on, but his mischievous ideas come to him when he is not geared up.
He has been very good about not running by the pool and keeping his distance form the edge. Yesterday, not so much. He was quietly playing on the steps next to Mommy when he made his way out of the water and over to me about 4 feet away. He made a gesture as if he was going to jump into my arms in the shallow end when he darted for the slide. I am no Michael Phelps, but I can swim relatively fast. Relative to Charlie's running speed. I made my way to the slide in an effort to keep him from taking a plunge. He threw his leg over the edge of the slide and tried to slide down. I am now in the deep end of the pool, treading water, trying to hang on the edge all while holding Charlie on the slide.
I asked for help from the four other adults watching this take place, but I guess that they were all too comfortable to come to the rescue. Maybe they could not hear me since I was nearly drowning while performing my acrobatic skills? I did hear my mother say "Let him slide in." What? Let him slide in? It is 10 feet deep! Of course this was one of the moments that he was not geared up to float or I would have let him slide in.
I tried as hard as I could to keep Charlie on the slide while someone came to get him, but it was no use. I let him slide in. I caught him by the waist and raised my arms. The weight pushed me under water until I could kick my way back to the top. Luckily Charlie never went under. He thought it was great and wanted to do it again. I reached the side of the pool and expelled the water from my mouth and nose while holding firmly on to my child.
I made my way back to the steps with Charlie's arms wrapped around my neck like a baby Chimpanzee (read Clingon!). He was happy that he went down the slide, but upset that I would not let him do it again. I don't think that I would have made it through round 2. I was not cut out to be a life guard.
I made my way back to the steps with Charlie's arms wrapped around my neck like a baby Chimpanzee (read Clingon!). He was happy that he went down the slide, but upset that I would not let him do it again. I don't think that I would have made it through round 2. I was not cut out to be a life guard.
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