A Narrow Miss

I think this phrase is widely over-used in the LDS culture but today there was just no other phrase to quite describe it. We had a "tender mercy" in our family today.

Benson and McKay are in swimming lessons and both doing quite well. McKay is basically swimming independently and Benson is getting better all the time. He is learning to breath correctly, back-float, and is working on his strokes. However, he definitely cannot swim alone yet. 

Both boys love their teachers, as do I. The head teacher is a friend of mine and she has an assistant that is great with the kids. Today though, Benson gave us all a scare.

At the end of Benson's class, just before free swim time, the head teacher was standing on one side of the pool with all the kids. The assistant was standing 3/4 of the way across the pool to assist the kids as they swam across. They would swim to the first teacher, then to the second teacher, then to the steps. Though they were working in the shallow end, the water was above the children's heads unless the children were on the steps.

I attend the swim lessons which are in my friend's backyard but spend most of the time chasing Lily who seems bound and determined to either crash swim class or break her neck on the trampoline. She pretty much consumes all my attention, so I'm lucky if I actually see the boys doing much of anything.

However, in what I know was Divine Intervention, that "tender mercy" I was describing, I happened to be walking next to the pool just as Benson did his last crossing. I paused to watch him. He did well swimming to Teacher 1 and Teacher 2. 

Teacher 2 did just what she had done with the other kids, giving Benson a push toward the stairs and then turned her back to catch the next child. This had been working well but somehow Benson didn't get enough momentum as he pushed off from her. Instead of reaching the stairs where he was safe, he made it halfway to them and then sank like a rock. He tried to swim, tried to bounce up for air as he'd been taught, but he just wasn't making it. He was beginning to drown. 

Both teachers were occupied with the on-coming students and couldn't see that behind them my little boy was drowning. It was only a few seconds but in deep water with a panicked child, that's all it takes. 

My heart jumped up into my throat and once I overcame the shock of realizing what was happening, I began pointing and shouting to Teacher 2 who was closest to him. I was about to jump in myself when I caught teacher 2's attention and she rescued a terrified, water-choked Benson.

He coughed up a lot of water but was okay and even participated in the free swim time, once he'd recovered. 

He was an incredibly brave boy today, but more than that, he was a blessed boy today. I am so grateful to have been there at that moment. Sometimes moments don't really matter and sometimes they are everything. Thanks to Heavenly Father for letting me be there in one of those most significant moments.