Saturday, July 18, 2015

Wet Laughter

July 18, 2015

Laughter wafts up the hundred yards from the swimming hole to the garage where I am working. First it was the Emmott family of four girls and one boy, who along with mom and dad were cooling off in the flow at the foot of the falls. Squeals of joy have a sound all their own, pleasant to the ear, soothing to the heart.

As they were getting ready to leave, we saw the bicycles turning into the yard; one, two, three, four, five. Izzi, Jo, and the three Pascoe girls who stopped in long enough to say hello and grab some of Linda's cow's tails candy before spilling out the door on a hundred yard dash to the water. Abi walked down about an hour later to spend the evening talking with her grandmother. Abi likes the slower pace of solitude, and having Meema all to herself for an hour is a treat for both of them. My working in the garage was my contribution to their time together.

We remember our kids swimming down here thirty years ago, never dreaming one day we would live here, and never imagining when we bought this place that it would be such a magnet for the kids. If I were to listen to this evening's news or go online for it, my head and heart would be filled with a litany of ills and evils. Instead, I think I'll close my eyes and remember the children's laughter, and be thankful.

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