Mishaps and Adventures in a Toddler Week, Part I: Falling off the water

It has been a week and a half since Little Queen, as she describes it, "fell off the water" and I am still reluctant to commit the tale to written word. Naturally I have told and retold the events of Monday, September 10, but writing it is so much more in the first person. The children asked if I was going to include this story in our family blog and I admitted that I had been waffling about it for days. I asked if they thought it belonged here and they discussed it before giving me an affirmative response.

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I was already jittery that morning as we headed out to the park, as I'd had an unexpectedly heightened conversation on the phone first thing. In fact, a tranquil morning at one of our favorite parks seemed just the recourse for setting the day aright.

We arrived and parked near the pond where we planned to do some sketching and read a chapter from a new history book that had just arrived in the mail the previous week. The three eldest children went ahead, Firstborn rounding the curves of the pond in search of fish and turtles. This particular body of water is never clear and sparkling, but on that day it was entirely covered with green. So thickly carpeted, in fact, that one could not hope to see to the bottom.

As Little Queen and I approached, she pointed to a small clearing around some lily pads and exclaimed, "I see water!" As Firstborn continued to explore on ahead of us, I conversed with the girls about the condition of the water and intended to talk to Little Queen about the water as well. And then, in one of those ill-fated "I just turned my back for one second" moments, I heard the dreadful "ker-plunk!" followed by a scream from my Sunshine. I turned, looked at Sunshine and then to the water where her fearful gaze was directed. And then I saw what I'd heard, what she saw: our beloved Little Queen was in the water.

Completely. Submerged.

It is true what they say...in the next eighth of a second, I screamed, had a flash of past, present and future, prayed, and determined that I had one chance to get that toddler out of the water. I reached down and, in that moment, prayed again and knew that the next seconds would confirm or relieve us of our fears. Blessed be God. The moment her beautiful little face came out of the water, she released the most glorious scream I have ever heard. Blessed be her Guardian Angel. The scream was followed by fear-filled wails, but not one cough or sputter. My little girl had held her breath under that murky water and though scared, she was okay.

Little Queen is not impetuous around water. She is always a little hesitant even upon climbing into the bathtub. At the pool, she never goes deeper than the second step and won't even let anyone carry her in the water. And the water at this pond laps right up to the ground; there are no ledges or drop offs. But remember how I mentioned the carpet of green and the water she pointed to further out? Seems our Little Queen thought she was stepping out onto terra firma to get a little closer view of that distant pool by the lily pads. Imagine the shock!

As the only witnesses of this drama, Sunshine and I find we will never quite be the same. That moment when we looked down into the water and saw that little body helplessly engulfed in that brown-green fluid muck is an image that will be forever imprinted on our souls, a wrinkle in our hearts. Little Queen reminds me several times a day, at the most unexpected and seemingly random moments that she "fell in the water." She says it with a heightened tone, fearful expression and always searching my eyes for reassurance and comfort. Clearly the pond incident, as we have come to call it, has created quite an imprint on her little being as well.

There is no unique reflection I can offer as I wrap up this dreadful tale. Our response is cliched and connects us with every other person who has witnessed or been a part of a harrowing event. We are grateful. Grateful to the Almighty and grateful for all that we have. We have smothered our Little Queen with hugs, kisses, and been so glad to give her our very best. It seems Little Queen's fall off the water made is fall all the more in love with her.