What we learned

With summer winding down, Cleo and I drove out to West Virginia for a last splash of hot weather, wading in springs, and looking for dragonflies. And now we're back, class, to report on what we learned. I'll boil it down for you, real quick:

1. As you can see in the photo above, Cleo learned - from a gregarious 5-year-old boy who was both self-promoter and generous teacher - how to pump vigorously enough on a big-girl swing to keep herself going indefinitely. Wonderful it was to step back and simply watch her arch her little body to generate the energy needed for a good session.

2. I learned that fairies are, well, complicated. This morning, shortly after she woke up, Cleo looked lost in thought. Her brow was furrowed; her posture frozen. So I asked her, building on what I saw, 'What's the hardest thing you can think of?' And she, in turn: 'Fairies.' Ah, I thought, but wanted to know more. 'Is it because they're hard to imagine,' I continued, 'or because they're complicated.' 'Complicated,' came the answer, as sincere as can be.

3. And, finally, we both learned about life, from the local country station. As we drove home after a picnic o a field near football and cheerleading practice, we turned the radio on, and promptly learned that one singer couldn't forget the object of her love; that another's love went on, and on, and on, and on, and on; and that sometimes you've got to sing like you're not getting paid, and dance as if no one is watching.

Or swing, we now think, as if summer just might never end.