Meerah is taking a break. The nice lady and I decided to stop work on Meerah’s book for a little while because we were having too many disagreements. So now I have much time to do some other things I enjoy. I have been visiting other neighborhoods on their trash days. And I am beginning to really like these things called garage sales. I became much more excited about them once I realized I did not have to buy a whole garage. The name is very foolish. Meerah cannot be the only one who was confused by it.
Also, the nice lady invited Meerah to come with her to her daughter’s swimming lessons. This sounded like fun to Meerah, so I asked which ponds had flooded. The nice lady became very upset by this question and told Meerah that question was very insensitive. It has been a very wet spring and Meerah thought the question was appropriate. In case of a flood, it is a good idea to know how to swim. The nice lady just said she would drive Meerah to the lessons and hung up. So there was no chance to complete the discussion about ponds, floods and swimming. I am thinking about whether I should be upset with the nice lady or not.
I decided not to be upset with the nice lady because I remembered her brain is disturbed. Instead, I was very excited when the nice lady came to pick me up. When we reached the place for the lessons, Meerah discovered it was not a pond at all, but a pool. This seemed very good to Meerah because ponds can be very unpredictable. Sometimes they are full. Sometimes not. Sometimes they are flooded. Sometimes not. Oh, the nice lady told me to stop talking about floods at the swimming lessons. She said I was making the parents nervous. Pfffpt. What foolishness is this? But, Meerah is full of sensitivity, so I stopped.
The lessons were very interesting. Many, many children had come to learn, and there were many teachers there to share their swimming wisdom with those children. Sadly, Meerah discovered that there was much swimming wisdom the teachers were not sharing with the children. What foolishness is this? Not to worry though. Out of a heart full of sensitivity and kindness, Meerah decided to share her swimming wisdom with all those at the lessons.
Those at the swimming lessons were not ready for Meerah’s wisdom though. The nice lady told Meerah to be quiet in her loud voice, and Meerah is not invited back to swimming lessons until the celebration day.
So here is what Meerah learned at swimming lessons. Do not say these things:
1. Why are you bouncing up and down in the water? You are not a fish. Stay on top of the water where the air is.
2. Don’t worry so much about learning to dive. It is more important to know how to get out of the water than how to get in.
3. Pay attention to your teachers. Learn quickly. The flood is coming!
So this is what I learned. Swimming lessons were fun. I hope the celebration day comes soon. The nice lady would not tell me when it was.
