Turning Fear Into Joy

It is late August 1969. It is a hot muggy day, overcast but you can feel the humidity in the air. I am 11 years old, tall for my age but scrawny and very shy. I am in St. Agathe, Quebec in cottage country, one hour north of Montreal. I am with my family, Mom and Dad and my three brothers enjoying a picnic lunch of cold cut sandwiches and potato salad and coleslaw and cold pop and watermelon. Following lunch I toss the baseball and football around with my Dad and brothers. We are at a public beach and families are enjoying the last bit of summer on this muggy day. Getting all sweaty from throwing the ball around and having ample time to digest my lunch I welcome a dip in the lake. I notice on the far side a small dock with a diving board and decide that it would be a great way to jump in and cool off.  As I am on the dock approaching the diving board I notice a sign indicating a warning about this area being the deep end. The sign is a blur as I run and jump off the diving board and feel the cool rush of the lake as I plunge deep down in the water. As I descend, I try to make my way back to the dock area but suddenly after a few strokes, I grow tired and try to tread water. I begin to panic and feel myself going down. In an instant, a man grabs my arm and holds onto me as he brings me to the dock where I am able to climb back on-board.  I am tired, embarrassed and grateful for a stranger who rescued me. I say thank-you and return to my family’s picnic area and tell them the story. They are all relieved that I am fine. 

Fast-forward 50 years and I am now in my backyard watching my 11 year-old daughter in our pool, smiling and laughing, doing handstands and back flips. Swimming lessons and a natural love of the water has allowed her to embrace the water with joy and no fear. My family is aware of my story that day in St. Agathe and my trepidation when I go into a lake, ocean or pool extends to the present. I am cautious spending all my time in the shallow end, no swimming laps just taking a dip to cool off and then relaxing in the sun. My wife and two daughters are the complete opposite spending hours in the pool with no fear and pure enjoyment. I am not traumatized by that event 50 years ago, embarrassed yes but also feeling blessed that a stranger or was it the hand of God who took my arm and brought me to safety. Now my joy is watching my family enjoy the beauty of being in the water and me being the one watching over them to provide the safety if necessary.