Five Minute Fridays- Exhale

I hold my breath a lot, without even thinking about it.

It's in response to stress, I think.

Kind of like when you are watching a movie and the characters are running into the fire. You just know they are going to get burned. Or they come to the end of the roof, footsteps falling fast behind them, in pursuit, and they have no choice but to jump.

Edge of the seat suspense, and I'm sitting there holding my breath.

Or like just before you jump into the lake to go swimming.  You take a big deep breath, inhaling all the way into the deep recesses of your lungs, and jump.

As you plunge down, the water pushes you down deep. If you open your eyes, it's blurry and sometimes you don't know which way is up.  Your lungs feel like they are going to burst.

Or, with Caleb, jumping in the pool and swimming across.  "See how long I can hold my breath, Mama."

So I count, as the bubbles rise to the surface and he kicks across the pool.

And then he pops up, gasping for breath.

The lake water holds you down until you fight back up into the glorious sunshine, and your mouth opens.

The heroine lands on the ground on both feet, not even a scratch, and keeps running, victorious again. 

They make it through the fire and come through the smoke, mouth open.

And I exhale.

Breathe out.

Empty my lungs for new air to come in.

Free of the stress... free of the toxins.

Exhale, knowing that He holds my very next breath.

Linking up with five minute Fridays, where we are given a one word prompt and write for five minutes, unedited. This week, exhale.