Sadly, this tragedy was preventable. By law, children 12 and under must wear life vests when on the water. Neither mother nor son were wearing life jackets. There was a time in my life that I viewed regulations, safety recommendations, and caution as killjoy and over reactively restrictive. But when I got married, I realized that someone’s world counted on me coming home safely, and especially when I had children whose very lives at times counted on my responsible and proactive prevention and protection, well, let’s just say that my husband and I would never be on any body of water without life jackets on ourselves and our girls. Nevertheless, this mom was brave and selfless in her automatic response to jump in and save her son. I wish that instinct would have been preventative rather than reactive. May she rest in peace and the family is in my prayers and on my heart. That young man will grow up wrapped completely in the knowledge of the incredible love his mother had for him and I hope that is some measure of comfort and sustinence.
