Swinging with Claire

Does the grass seem greener on the other side of the fence?

Photo by Mike Lietz
flickr.com

The grass is greener where it is watered the most, where it is nourished, where it has room to grow.  Grass flourishes in the sunshine where it is not trampled.

"Nana, let's go swing," Claire suggests. "You push me and I'll push you."

She climbs onto the tire and I begin to push. Claire soars into the sunshine, laughing. When I need a break from pushing, she lays back in the swing.

"Let's sing, Nana," she says. And we sing and rest, munching on sweet red apples between songs.

I climb onto the swing and she gives me a push. She dances between pushes and we laugh hard.  We are alive, awake in a glorious day.

Basking in the warm sunshine, grazing on lush, green grass, the horses on the other side of the fence live an enviable life. Claire shouts to them and the horses ramble over to the fence. They watch the swinging and dancing, listen to the songs and laughter.

I glance down as I push Claire up into the summer breeze. On our side of the fence, there is dirt, not green grass like the horses enjoy. Beneath the swing the green grass has been trampled so often that it has died. .

"Catch me, Nana!" shouts Claire. The horses awaken from their sleepiness and jump. They gallop wild and free over the lush green meadow, kicking dirt into the air as they go.

I catch Claire up when she jumps. We are laughing wildly as we free roll across the yard, awake to the wonderful moment.

"You're a mess, Nana," Claire pants, still laughing. "You have grass and dirt all over you."

The grass is green on both sides of the fence.

The dirt gets trampled on both sides of the fence.

Life is short on both sides of the fence. Stay awake for it.


See also: Liam, God and Me