Struggling for Air

It's a distant, blurry memory, but one that I can relate to right now....

A warm summer day in the late 90's, I was with my family in Ontario, visiting my relatives out that way. My cousin's little boy, although only 1/3 of my age, he was a big boy, about 2/3 of my weight. As we were all frolicking in the pool, Tristan decided to try to swim out to the deep end to where the older kids were. When he realized he was beyond what he could handle, he reached out and wrapped his arms around my neck, intending to use me as a personal floatation device. Not being an overly strong swimmer myself, and now being weighed down with an extra 60 pounds that was flailing around, I found myself fighting to keep my head above the water. Gasping for air, I repeatedly took in several mouthfuls of chlorinated water before making it to the edge of the pool to safety. He seemed oblivious to my struggle while I panted desperately for air.

...that pretty much sums up my life right now. I'm not drowning, but I'm working really hard to stay afloat, desperately gasping for air, yet my struggle seems completely invisible to those around me. Each moment is filled with tasks that help me momentarily keep my head out of water, yet nothing seems to get me any closer to the edge of the pool where I can catch my breath. The exhausting part is knowing that this frantic struggle will go on for the next 10+ weeks.