It's a little late, what with Summer half over, but August usually brings the hotter, stickier weather thus driving more of us to the coolness of water. Which, in most cases, is backyard pools. And with the new availability to just about anyone now that they sell those easy to set up, fairly inexpensive, inflatable kind with a filter; just about everyone owns one.
Besides, after reading Darcie's heart-wrenching post, I thought this was a necessity to get the word out.
We have a pool in the backyard. It came with the house. Although we can't say we were not aware, since our house belonged to hubby's grandparents, but still. It was not our choice. And believe me, hubby threatens to fill it in or move each summer as he is the one to clean/tend to it's needs. But, we do enjoy it as a family and the kids spend just about 95% of their time home during the summer in the pool.
But, owning a pool comes with a huge responsibility. Huge. Gigantic. Bigger than you can image.
When we first moved in, it was August. The pool hadn't been opened for two years, and it was green, mucky and covered in a worn tarp that was sinking into the water. Not good, since it's in-ground and just about 4 feet from our back door, not to mention it's just over 8 feet at the deep end.
The kids were just 2 and 3 months, thus sending me into a fit of worry.
Needless to say, the very first thing we purchased was a winter safety cover. The ad read, "This can hold an elephant!" and even pictured an elephant standing on the cover.
So glad I found this pic. It is exactly the before/after I was looking for, and living.
Anyway, I still was not worry-free. So the second modification was that we put latches on all screen doors high enough so the kids couldn't reach them. And I have an alarm on the door closest to the pool that sounds whenever someone opens it.
Safety, done. At least for the fall/winter.
Spring rolls around. We need to take the winter cover off and begin to open the pool. Which is even greener/muckier and full of God knows what, besides the fact that it is 4 feet from our back door and my kids are almost 3 and a just walking 1 year old into everything.
Here enters the second cover purchase. The summer safety cover.
This is not my baby. I am borrowing this picture as an example.
So, let's recap for now. Winter safety cover, summer safety cover, locks and alarms.
I think we are set to swim.
Oh, I almost forgot....
Rules.
No kids in the backyard when the pool is open without an adult.
No kids in the pool unless an adult is in with them. But, I have to admit, this year we have been lenient and letting them swim with us sitting at the side.
Swimmies or floatation devices must be worn by all non swimmers. (Again, lenient, which I will explain shortly but the rule is back in full force again)
No running, pushing or riding bikes on the concrete next to the pool.
And the door closest to the pool is to remain latched and dead-bolted when children are in the house. No exceptions!
Okay. Got that? Prepared to swim?
We thought we were too......
One evening, the kids were in the pool with Dave. I was sitting at the side watching. It was just getting dark, and the kid's favorite time to be in the water. They think it's a blast to swim, and dodge mosquito's, under the water.
Anyway, on this particular evening, Chachi begged to take her swimming vest off and practice swimming without it.
Unfortunately, hubby allowed it. For a while, she was swimming with hubby fantastically. And since the water was a little low, she could touch in the shallow end. She was having a ton of fun holding on to her boogie board and kicking around. And Stink was getting out and jumping in over and over again. It was another perfect evening. The air crisp, the pool water warm, getting the kids nice and tired before bed. Just wonderful.
In an instant....everything changed.
I happened to glance back to the pool just as I saw Chachi's head slip under water. It took a moment for my voice to work.
"Dave!" I screamed, "Get her!" was all I could get out.
I watched as he reached around and grabbed her arm. As she surfaced, she coughed and wiped the water mixed with snot from her face and she took a big breathe.
Dave scooped her out of the pool with one quick motion and set her on the side.
Her face had that look of shock and she was still stammering.
"I went under." she mumbled.
"I know. You got too close to the slope and slipped, huh?" I asked as I wrapped her in a towel and pulled her closer to me.
She nodded.
And that, even with all the safety precautions and just like Darcie, an adult standing within arms reach (in our case, two adults!), is why it can happen to anyone. And as you can see, even a moment can change a lifetime.
Which is why I urge everyone with a pool, even a shallow one, to stay alert. Understand the ramifications of the water. Supervise at all times. Forget the ringing telephone, it's not that important. And if one child has to use the potty, take the rest out of the pool and into the house with you. Or better yet, do what we do, use the outside facilities. Grass people. It's absorbent!
Just be careful.
