WAAAALLLLK!!

Do you remember as a kid, probably at some public city pool, hearing a lifeguard shout this word for what seemed like 4.5 minutes? Over and over little dripping munchkins would be corrected from their desire to run. Something about swimming in a pool on a hot sunny day makes a child so giddy that it's hard to slow those legs down and nearly impossible for a 7 year old to concern themselves with something like safety. "Life is great, I'm wet, I'm cool!" Buoyancy is like a drug running through their veins, and temporarily altering what little good common sense they have amassed in their first years of life. It just doesn't get any better than this.

Such was a typical summer vacation day for my boys yesterday. Christian, Peyton & Elliot all playing in the pool. I love it. They grow so close playing together, working through all the "unfairs" builds their unity, strengthens their brotherly bond. The squeals and shreiks I hear are usually harmless cries of games and adventures. But yesterday I knew the sounds I heard were not to be ignored.

Christian met me at the door, "Peyton's bleeding, alot, his head, I don't want to tell him, I don't want him to freak out". I knew the day was coming, the day we would have our first major pool injury. Guess what, they were running, around the pool, and Peyton's legs were working more than his brain was that day. He sort of jumped down this concrete slide (rather than slow down and sit down) and lost his balance, slipped and slid down the slide very out of control. He slammed his head at the bottom of the slide and knew something was terribly wrong. The blood was scary, but it could have been way worse. The gash was ugly but things weren't unmanagable. Christian prayed immediately, and stuck by Peyton's side through everything. Hours later, after a few hours at the emergency room and 5 staples in his sweet little head life was good again.

A painful lesson to learn, but we are thankful God was watching over Peyton, my sweetie pie. And I pray next time they WAAALLLK!