Take a moment

Take a moment please to hug and kiss and shower your children with love.

Tonight we had a rather large fright, and I'm not entirely sure it has sunk in just how lucky we were.

My mother-in-law has a small pond in her garden.  Oliver is really good around water, and will always hold your hand.  He never goes  over there without an adult present, which proved to be our lucky break this evening.

My father-in-law was at the edge of the small bridge that goes over the pond (it has no side-railings) with Rose on his lap and Oliver beside him.  Noone quite knows how it happened, but Oliver fell in.  My FIL knew it was happening before he landed in the water, so quickly put Rose down and jumped in after him.

It all happened in the space of seconds, but when I remember it, it feels like an eternity.  My FIL had to drag Oliver from the bottom of the pond where he had become stuck to the mud.  He said you could not see him at all from above the water, only the gap in the duck-weed where he fell in.

He also said when he came up he literally could not make out which side of his head was his face he was covered in such thick mud.

He didn't breathe from the moment he fell until the mud was wiped from his face (no mud in his mouth at all), and whether or not we have his 2 year spell of swimming lessons to thank for that I don't know.

I keep replaying it in my head, thinking of different scenarios.  What if my FIL hadn't been there?  What if he had tried to breathe in a panic while under water?  What if my FIL hadn't acted so quickly?

I could have lost my baby boy today, and typing this has made me realise how close we were.  I can feel the tears slowly appearing, so I will ask again.

Take a moment to love and cherish the little people in your life, shower them in hugs and kisses even when they are acting up and probably deserve to be left in the middle of the shopping centre.  Never leave them without letting them know how much you love them.