The Weather Report--Soaking It All In

The night of the red hoe incident, the weather was cool and clear. The ladies aren’t quite ready to participate in the fanatical arguments over the lawn mower, the broken wheel from the trike that no one has long enough legs to actually use, the sandbox toys that are used anywhere but the sandbox, and, yes, the red hoe. But, they are able to watch and soak it all in. We can see them laying on their blanket watching and waiting. Waiting for the day they can join in the chaos instead of contributing from a stationary point of view. They are indeed learning. They must be learning that the children’s picnic table is for tipping over and crawling on like a boat or for pinning a brother to the wall of the house. They must be learning that flowers are for eating. They must be learning that the swimming pool makes a good fort when propped up against a tender, young tree or better, a prison for a brother when tipped over the top of him and held down. They must be learning that the shovel can carry sand to all parts of the lawn. They must be learning that if you dig long enough, you can always find a good pointy stick mixed in with the mulch. We are only hoping that they are not learning too quickly that legs are for walking and that freedom makes everything possible.