After a week off, Monday drags for an eleven year old that has come home with a heavy backpack full of work to do. She looks tired and sad after coming down from Easter’s sugar high. She hits the books on the first truly warm day of the spring with a melancholy look. The afternoon sun is making everything glow and tries to lure her outside. She stays her course proving that she is growing up before my eyes and has become the student I have waited for. I lay on the patio, photographing bugs, petals and unfurling leaves while adjusting f-stops hoping to discover something. The student stares outside looking for an escape route. The swing that hangs from the massive maple tree glows a bright yellow hue beaming from the late day sun. Just short of screaming to her, the swing seems to sway like it’s waving to her. I look at her as she smiles unable to avoid the invitation. The pencil is dropped and she runs for her favorite spot in the yard. The swing welcomes her and together they make it to great heights. Gone is the glum look and instead she has a smile that could launch a thousand ships. The miracle of this swing is that it has played this game with her a thousand times. In her lifetime she has sought out the perch on the wooden swing so she could pout, sulk, think, or question her life. Every time the swing seems to listen and answers her in a way that someone with great wisdom would. Her face beamsshowing pure contentment while I secretly thank the massive old tree for giving once again. She comes inside a different person than when she left. She has found a different approach and her mood has swung positive. If positivity in life can pivot on something as simple as a swing, we should all try it. Perhaps as we sway back and forth we shake off the excess and free ourselves.
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