When Grandma Was A Little Girl - #17

Story #17 - The Dive off the barn roof and NOT into the pool – is she dead?

This is another story about our wonderful swimming pool!

Do you like to dive off the diving board or off the side of the pool? It can be a lot of fun!

My dad had built what we called a small storage barn. It was like a one room house. We kept our stuff stored out there. It was about 7 feet tall and 12 feet square. The roof only had tarpaper across it. My dad had not put the shingles on it yet. The roof had a slight pitch so that rain or snow would run off. My two older brothers, Geoff and Douglas, about ages 10 and 12, got the brilliant idea that they could run and jump off the roof and dive ‘into’ the pool! On the sloped outer edge the roof was only 5 feet tall. The little barn was about 4 feet from the edge of the pool. They would climb up on top of that roof and then run and jump into the pool! That was fun! I was about 6 or 7 years old and my twin brother Gayle and I could climb and run and jump off the roof too!

The first time I tried it, it really scared me! Wow! I didn’t know if I would make it into the pool. It seemed like I was up too high and the pool too far away. But my brothers encouraged me to ‘go ahead and jump!’ I finally did it! I went down into the water and didn’t quite touch the bottom of the pool and then my worry was to get back ‘up’ out of the water! I was so scared but at the same time triumphant that I did it! After a few more times it just got easier and easier. It really was fun to run and jump off into the pool! We liked to see how big of a splash we could make! Well…my parents weren’t too happy about the water being splashed ‘outside’ the pool. Water was expensive and that was wasteful! When you are a kid you don’t think about how much water cost or that you are being wasteful. You just know how much fun it is to see that water splash!

My brothers were in the pool and I was on top of the roof ready to jump into the pool. Only this time I didn’t make it into the pool. There was a loose gap in the tar paper about 2 feet from the edge of the roof and as I was getting ready to jump up and into the pool, my foot caught and I fell downward. I landed on the concrete sidewalk. Splat! I don’t remember anything for a moment. Also, there happened to be two cinderblocks lying on the sidewalk and my head barely missed those two blocks. I also just missed the one-foot wall around the edge of the pool. I had landed face down smack on the sidewalk. I tell you my guardian angels were watching over me that day. I could have broke my neck and died. My head could have hit either the cinderblocks or the one-foot high wall.

I remember my brothers around me saying, “Is she dead? Is she alive? She isn’t moving! Oh my gosh, somebody go get mom!” They picked me up and threw me into the pool! I guess they thought that would ‘bring me around.’ I went limp and started to sink. Then they grabbed me. The next thing I remember was that I was lying on my back on the sidewalk and my mom was standing over me. “Diana, are you all right?” I moaned and I don’t’ remember what I said! She checked me all over. Apparently I was okay and had not broken my neck or any bones, so that was a huge relief to everyone! She carried me back into the house and I did not go anywhere for the rest of the day. She called the clinic and talked to the doc and he told her to watch for a concussion and see if the pupils in my eyes were dilated bigger. That’s all I remember. I just know I had to lie down and take it easy. They fixed the gap on the roof and we continued to jump off the roof!

My poor mom, I think about all the things we did and the accidents we had and how she had to manage us all day by herself! Good grief! What a fantastic mom! Looking back on my pool accident, first aid tells you ‘never move the victim until you are sure nothing is broken.’ If I had broke my neck or back or anything, picking me up and throwing me into the pool would have been so bad for me or I could have died from being moved. It amazes how the Lord watches over us!

I’m sure my children reading this will gasp in horror over the accident. I guess I had nine lives. I think over all the dumb things I have done and the accidents I had growing up, but this one probably was the worst!