NJM-20 in NoJoMo13

Day 20 – What is the most heroic thing you have done in your life?

I do not think of myself as particularly heroic. I mean, I've saved lives. I've eased suffering. I've provided comfort in hopeless situations. But, that's not really heroic, it's just being human.

I almost did something heroic, once. I almost risked my own life to save the lives of my two oldest children. Audrey was about 4 and Kevin was about 2. They were playing in the front yard and their father was working with the septic tank in the back yard. He left to go back to the home improvement store for some tool or other that he needed. He did not replace the concrete lid on the septic tank. I was shelling peas on the front porch and watching the kids play when the phone rang and I went inside to answer it. I was gone maybe two minutes and when I came back in the house, my children were nowhere to be found. I looked all over the place for them. I even went across the street and behind the neighbor's house to the pond to see if they were there. I went back around to the backyard, calling out for my children, when I noticed that the lid to the septic tank was off. There were ripples on the surface of the water. I was just sure that my children had become curious and decided to check things out and fallen in. I couldn't swim. The septic tank was 6 feet deep. I was 5'6". I didn't know if I could hold my breath long enough to find both my children and toss them out of the septic tank, but I knew I had to try. I was poised to jump in when I heard giggling. They thought it was so funny that they hid from me under some hedge bushes. I was so glad that they were safe that I didn't even think about scolding them for not answering when I called.

Yep. I was willing to drown in turd water in order to save my children. That's kind of heroic, right?