Chances and Changes: My Journey with Molly

I decide to take the plunge and speak up. I swim over to Molly and lean against the dock and ask if she’s okay. Molly admits shyly that she doesn’t like to put her head underwater. She takes a deep breath and says that last summer, she slipped off this very dock and nearly drowned. She shudders. It was so scary, the way the water sucked her down and closed over her head. She felt like she couldn’t see or breathe or move. The counselors had to rescue her. And ever since then, she only puts her head underwater when she has to. She might be a Pollywog forever!

I say that what happened to Molly was awful. I don’t blame her for being scared. I offer that I can help her. We are buddies after all. I gesture toward the Buddy Board. Molly smiles and says that would be great. I wonder if she’s ready to start now. We can go slowly and stop whenever Molly needs a break.