As a child, I had a reoccurring nightmare of being trapped inside a washing machine and taken down underwater. I would wake up gasping for air. I had this dream so often (couple times a week), that I started to actually enjoy the feeling of twirling around inside of the washing machine. I would just hold my breath; go down through the water, spinning around until it was over. The dream lasted only seconds and by the age of six, the dream had stopped.
I lived in a small town called Brownsville in the state of Indiana. I attended the Church of Christ in Brownsville with my Grandparents. There was a river where baptisms were performed. I knew it well. One day the heat was unbearable, some friends and I decided to walk down to the river for a swim. I was only seven. I had no idea the water was so deep. "Drop off's" are what we called them, along with "underwater currents." Both deadly for a child.
I was having fun with my friends swimming around in shallow water up to my waist. All of the sudden, I was in water over my head! I remember seeing my friends face as I took my last breath and went under. I then felt the familiar suction feeling at my feet. I was in my washing machine! I was being pulled down further into the water! I was spinning just as I had done so many times in my dream.
I held my breath and I was tossed up and out of the deep end and standing right next to my friends. Shaken up a bit... My knees trembled as I realized what just happened. I had prepared for that experience for so long had I not had the dream I would have never just "let go and went with the current." I survived! Moreover, I still love the water.
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