I didn't see any of that. I only heard Jack scream. What I did see was my baby boy, Nick (okay, he's 8 but STILL my baby) being pulled overboard with the tubing rope. The rope had wrapped around Nick's leg and drug him to the back of the boat. This is when I summoned that super human strength all Mother's possess. You know what I mean, that power that comes out of no where, to do something you never knew you could do, to save your child. I made it from the back of the boat to the front of the boat in a single leap just in time to grab Nick's ankles and pull him back into the boat and onto me.
I assessed the damage. No broken bones, nothing protruding, only a really nasty rope burn across the back of his knee (and spilled homemade meatballs all over the floor of the boat; apparently my flight to get Nick produced this gourmet casualty). I was holding Nick as he cried that "I really am hurt" cry as opposed to the "I need attention" cry. Mariel was helping to gather ice and bandages. And my friend was picking up her delicious, but ruined, meatballs. This is when I saw Jack and this is why I am writing this blog today.
Jack was sitting alone stunned and in shock. I yelled to my friend to hug him. She did. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, dropped his head on her shoulder, and started to cry that "I can't believe what I just saw" kind of cry. Nick looks over and witnesses something very rare: Jack crying. Immediately, and I mean that very moment, Nick stops crying. He finds the strength to stifle his own pain, reach his little hand over toward his big brother, and say "I'm okay Jacky. I'm okay". Jack lifts his head to listen, reaches out his arm, latches onto Nick's hand, and cries a little bit harder. Mariel, my friend, and I were frozen and speechless in a timeless moment that I am sure will remain in our thoughts forever.
Just writing about this, brings back all of the emotions I felt that day. As extremely horrible as that freak accident happened to be, watching my children find strength in each other's arms, empowers me and warms my heart. I remarked to my friend later as we were boating back to shore that nobody can say my children aren't tight. They share a bond that is hermetically sealed. So much so, that I am curious how my boys will react to Mariel having a boyfriend. THAT will be interesting.
I am not saying my children don't fight. I am not in any stretch of the imagination trying to say that my children are perfect. I do want to acknowledge that tough circumstances breed tougher individuals. And, I believe, that their journey through the divorce and its subsequent struggles is molding them to be resilient and strong, beautiful human beings.
In my first blog I wrote about getting "cancer". This incident on the boat reassures me that even though my children haven't lived the fairytale "Leave it to Beaver" type childhood (it's been a bit more like "cancer"), they get "it". And, I am soooooooooooo very proud of them. I gain strength from their strength.
Expressing my inner most thoughts and discussing my personal life is a daunting task for me. I like to write, but question the content and my ability A LOT. As I logged on this morning, I was very, very surprised to read one of the comments in my blog. It touched me deeply and gave me the courage and confidence (and strength) to write again. It was from Jack.
Jack DiMidio said...
I didn't know you could write like that! I don't think I could ever write that well for my life! I think you should write a lot more about your self, but otherwise, it was awesome!!!!!
July 11, 2007 10:03:00 PM EDT
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