Summer is over and school is back in session, but we still have some weeks left of summer weather on our lake. My heart has been broken with how many tragic accidents I have been hearing about this summer, not just in our own lake here at Lake Texoma but all over our country. My hometown lake in California had 2 children drown in just one week of each other! Every one of these deaths that have occurred could have been preventable. I urge all of us to be safe for the remainder of our summer weeks.
It’s been a joy this summer to see the warmth of the sun bringing out the kids. Just about every day that I’ve been down at the lake I see them swimming and splashing around. Giggles and joy just beam from them. It truly is great to see these kids utilizing the lake for enjoyment versus staying indoors all summer on video games and TV. I know I’ll still be seeing them on the weekends until the cooler weather arrives.
I taught private swimming lessons for many years and I taught Water Safety to businesses that deal with children. And the very first thing I always start off talking about is my absolute love of the water but at the same time it’s the absolute thing I fear. Not in being afraid of it, but respecting it. No matter your skill in swimming there is always a chance for you to be a possible drowning victim. I won’t go into my water safety class or the multiple stories I have here but I will share just a few things in hopes it will help save a life.
Common sense is the base rule to hold, no matter how busy or what is going on, taking a pause for common sense should always be first. We shouldn’t take for granted our safety while out on the water or around the water. Life vests are a given if you’re swimming in water where you can’t touch the bottom. On our lake children on a boat under the age of 13 are required by law to wear a life jacket at all times.
Years ago, after breaking my back and after it healed I still dealt with bad leg cramps for an entire year. I was a great swimmer my whole life up to that point. I was at the lake one day, months after breaking my back, sitting on the shore in a cove while my friends were out boating; something I couldn’t do yet so I stayed back. I returned to being a strong swimmer and decided to hop into the lake to swim across the cove. Something I believed I could do. I didn’t pause for common sense with the depth of that area nor the thought of my leg cramps coming into effect and not taking into consideration that I was swimming alone.
Half way across the cove I had got a huge cramp and it took my breath away and it made me just about immobile. Amazing, just a cramp did that! I was becoming a drowning victim! I panicked, I felt all that fear come over me and luckily someone on shore saw me and jumped in to rescue me. My common sense was something I lacked that day. If my friend didn’t see me I might not have been here today. A strong swimmer, yet that cramp had my head barely out of the water.
So as you’re packing up the ice chest, food, towels and heading off to the lake with your boat please remember the life jackets. In the midst of all the fun and relaxation remember to pause for common sense so all are safe; it just takes a minute to make a safe decision. I can’t urge us all enough to be safe at all times. We are so blessed to have such a beautiful lake and it’s fun and relaxing but it also needs to be respected.