July 4th, 2002,
Independence Day, hooray!
Also, the day I almost died!
Well actually,
It was just baby AJ’s first day in the pool,
But it’s basically the same thing.

A momentous day in
The history of AJ, right?
I mean, he’s a swimmer now,
So, shouldn’t the first time
He entered a pool
Have set off fireworks or something?

It was a beautiful day,
Or so I’ve been told.
My parents have said that
The birds were singing and
The sky was a whole new shade of blue.

And apparently, it was a happy day.
A nice little 4th of July celebration –
Except that it was not little.
The backyard was as crowded as
A high school hallway – which is 
Funny, considering no one saw
Me almost die.

My dad had taken me into
The nice cool water –
Not too hot, not too cool.
There had to be a million people
Standing around the pool in the yard.

But, I was hanging out over his shoulder
With my tiny head just above the water.
Now, he was walking towards the deep end, And my head was fully underwater!
The best part about it is that there were
So many people just standing around and
No one said a word.

So, my mother screamed as she saw it.
She said I was under for what
Seemed like three hours.
I was yanked out of the water and I
Coughed like a cranky, crazy, old crone
For twenty minutes straight – and then,
Everything was alright.

I mean, I guess it could have been worse.
I’m still here today, so that’s a plus!
But really, I just like to share the story
Of my first time I went in the pool –
The day I almost died.