I once saved a little girl from drowning. Her babysitter brought her to the community pool where my Mom lived. I was there visiting Mom and enjoying spending the afternoon at the pool. The teenaged babysitter came in, put the little girl into an inflatable ring and set her adrift in the pool. The girl was probably 3 years old or less...and the pool, even in the shallowest place, was way over her head.
The babysitter then went and lay face down on her towel and promptly forgot about the little girl. I was appalled because, as a mother, I knew the danger an unattended child is in around water. I kept an eagle eye on that little girl. It's a good thing I did!
It wasn't long before she slipped out of the ring....and under the water.
I am glad I was still young and in pretty good shape because I was able to get up off the pavement and sprint to the shallow end, get on my knees and reach down into the water and grab her little arm, pulling her to safety. In spite of at least a dozen teens enjoying the pool at that time, plus a teenaged lifeguard, the little girl would have drowned had I not been watching her.
Not a soul, except me, noticed as the little girl slipped soundlessly underwater. She was there, and then she was gone. I was so frightened that she would drown. When it was apparent I had gotten to her in time, I was so relieved. Then, I got mad! What kind of parent would let an irresponsible teenager take their precious little girl to the pool?
It's been 22 years since that day. I think about it occasionally and I wonder how many kids need someone looking out for them but have no one. Had it not been for the bloody mess the pavement made of my knees, the events of that day would have seemed like a dream, but I know it wasn't. Only by God's good fortune did it happen I was there that day when that little girl needed me.
I am so glad that I was!
