Honoring Breath
I don’t remember my first breath. I remember the first time I struggled to breathe. I was eight years old. My family was living abroad that year and we were at a public pool. I was playing with a girl I had just met and she wanted to show me a cool trick. She asked me to trust her. I did. She asked me to float on my back and close my eyes. I did. Then I felt her push me down and suddenly I was underwater. Quickly. Uncomfortably. Unable to get my bearings. I swallowed water an