The picture on the left is the waterfall last year. It was strong in the corner but we were careful and 10 feet away it calmed down. The picture on the right is what it was like this year. The water level is much higher and, the current is so strong we couldn't get anywhere as close to it as we did last year. You can see the rock we were leaning against is completely covered this year. So we stayed down river a bit. The ironic thing is I gave both the girls a strong talking to /lecture, about how they have to respect the river and how it looks like fun but is very dangerous, and to never underestimate it. Too bad I didn't heed my own advice.
Hubby is a bit of a daredevil and waded out farther into the rapids. He has the weight and strength to take care of himself, and was having a blast. He is just a big kid sometimes and loves waves of anykind. In this picture he has his body braced against a underwater rock and is letting the current flow over him. It's an incredible feeling but I wouldn't go in that deep this time. After a while he took our oldest a bit farther into the current then I was. He used his own body as a shield to block the current and keep her safe. She was having a blast and I stayed close to the edge with our youngest.I'm sure you have guessed where I am going with this. I heard a panicked yelp and looked up in enough time to see her slip to the side and swept over the rock she had been leaning against. I can tell you that was the single most terrifying moment of my life. Hubby lunged/dove/scrambled over two large underwater boulders and managed to grab her by the ankle. In 3 seconds the current had whipped her around and was about to send her heard first down the rapids. It was a matter of inches that saved her life. If he had missed her foot...
The curse of an overactive imagination is that I can envision every possible outcome of that moment, although I try not to think about it too much. Hubby has to hug her every time it crosses his mind. She escaped with nothing but a good scare and lost one of her favourite shoes. A teal coloured "croc".
Hubby had a brutal gash in his shin, lost a toe nail, and banged up his arm. I wanted him to have his leg looked at but of course he declared it "fine". He did promise that if it bruised black and became swollen he would let me drive him to emergency. I was sure he must have gotten a hairline fracture or something but it's ok and healing nicely.
Why am I tell you all this? I'm purging. This event has occupied most of my thoughts since it happened. Life is made up of experiences but really I could have done with out this one. I have tried to think of the positive, no one was hurt, I might even be ale to use those emotion when writing one day....but it's too soon. Trying not to dwell on 'what ifs' is the biggest challenge at the moment.
Think this is the end of my tale? Hell no, but the rest can wait till tomorrow
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