Pool Party

My mom's friend C always hires a lifeguard when she has pool parties at her house. She has a dark bottom pool with little corners where you can lose sight of a kid really easily. She was also at a party once where a little brother and sister nearly drowned in the jacuzzi because the littler one got stuck in the middle and panicked, pushing the sibling down under the water in an attempt to make it to the surface. C was the only one watching, though there were multiple adults standing less than 5 feet away, completely oblivious. I've always understood why she hires a lifeguard...but after this weekend, it's even more clear to me. (note, this did NOT happen at C's house...there was no lifeguard)

My littlest brother (Munchkin) had his last ball game of the season, I was so excited to make it home for this game. They won 11-8, it was a pretty great game. They had the team party afterwards at a teammate's house. It was a pool party. The kids were all splashing around in the pool having a great old time. I was hanging around the edge, snapping tons of pictures. The kids were having a great time letting me take pictures as they were midair jumping off the diving board.

The host's family has a LOT of kids. (like, 7) One of the youngest boys, let's call him Ben, is a recent swimmer and probably shouldn't have been in the big pool with this many kids around. My brothers and a couple of the other kids had been helping Ben out in the big pool. A lot of the kids had gone into the jacuzzi and Munchkin was helping Ben after he'd gone down the slide. It took me a minute to catch on, but as I watched Ben was pushing my brother down trying to keep above the surface. Munchkin was coming up for air every little bit, but I did not like what I was seeing, he was staying under water far too long, and Ben seemed to be panicking. I set down the camera I was holding and started slipping off my shoes, calling for my older little brother (The Adventurer) at the same time. I got his attention about a second before I was going to jump into the pool. He dove over from the jacuzzi and pulled the Ben off of our little brother and got him to the side of the pool where I was. The Adventurer is SO tall he got there almost instantly...maybe half a second. He's also a ridiculously strong swimmer. It's great. He saved me from going in the pool fully clothed (not that I would have minded...my brother is the most important, obviously). Incidentally, I later realized that I would have been buying a new phone, because though I'd dropped the camera, I forgot my phone was still in my pocket until later. But cell phones are replaceable. Little brothers are not.

Anyways, all's well that ends well, but my adrenaline was definitely pumping. Munchkin was fine, I'm not even sure he realized he was in trouble. He's convinced that he and the Adventurer both saved Ben. Which, I suppose is true. So please, with all the summer water fun that's going on right now, PLEASE keep a close eye on your children, even if they know how to swim. Munchkin knows how to swim, he's a pretty good swimmer, but he still needed help. So please please please keep an extra close eye on any kids in the water.