6. Bad Priorities
I was about four years old at the time. My family was having a BBQ and we had a few family members over. Naturally, everyone was occupied with the preparations and getting stuff ready. I was hungry, so my mother nuked a corn dog to keep me satisfied until the food was done. I was also too young to really help, so I got bored and started balancing around the lip of our pool.
It’s important to note that our pool had been broken for months and had a few feet of algae-ridden water at the bottom. It was also full of tadpoles. Of course, after some time, I slipped and fell in. Mid-fall, all I could think was, “No, not my corn dog!” I raised my corn dog up and laid face down floating in the water. At that moment, I was stunned—I didn’t know what to do.
I began to drown with one arm raised. My oldest sister heard the splash and came running out and screamed, “OMG, OMG! Let me get my bathing suit on!” and proceeded to run back into the house. My brother jumped in, fully clothed, and saved me. My corn dog was dry as a whistle. My sister came charging out in a black one-piece a minute later.