The Hammock

Yesterday our villa owner, Alberto, hung a new hammock in the garden for us. I never realized how entertaining a hammock could be to two small boys. They spent well over two hours laying in it side by side talking--occasionally rolling each other out of it. It was a beautiful summer day. The bees were buzzing around the beds of blooming lavender, the cicadas were making their noises, and a cool wind was blowing.And the boys laid there talking...quietly. Miracles do happen. If you take children away from noisy tv sets, computers and telephones they learn to adapt to silence. Why didn't I figure this out years ago?