Lakeside

"Water in there?" my son asked while examining the end of the hose. He had been watering the garden and playing with the hose for a while. Now he was looking down the dark hole at the end of the hose, wondering how so much water was stored in such a small space. His language skills were still underdeveloped but I knew what he was asking.
"The water comes through there," I said. "The water comes from a big lake. It comes through long pipes to our house and then through the hose. But it is really all in a big lake."
"Lake?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Way over by Rogers and Eureka Springs," I said pointing in the general direction of the lake. My son still looked puzzled. "We will go see it some day."
"Let's go," he said enthusiastically and he began walking in the direction I had pointed, barefoot and determined.
"Honey, we can't go now! It is almost dinnertime and you don't even have your shoes on."
He looked down at his feet, obviously wondering where his shoe had gone and said, "I'm not hungry."
I walked over to him and gave him a hug. "We will go see the lake soon, not right now, but soon."
A few days later we drove to a small beach on the south west corner of the lake. The sky was blue, the water clear, and the breeze warm.
As we sat on the beach and prepared to swim, I explained how the water traveled through pipes and got cleaned before traveling to our house so we could water the garden. He gazed out across the expanse of water.
"What over there," he pointed to the other side of the lake where a dock and a small house, perhaps a shed, stood.
"Oh I don't know, people live over there I guess."
"Let's go," he chanted eagerly starting for the water with his life jacket on.
Yes, he is an curious and determined boy!
We did not cross the great expanse of water. Instead we watched a flock of Canadian geese land on the water and float slowly by. The button bushes were blooming all around us along the shoreline and their globular flowers attracted various pollinating insects like honey bees, bumble bees, swallowtail butterflies and even a monarch.
By the end of the day we were all sun kissed and exhausted from swimming. Nevertheless, the next day we couldn't say no when a friend offered to take us sailing! I had only been on a sail boat once before, a catamaran when I was very young, and my husband had always been itching to try his hand at sailing. So we packed up early and drove to the Beaver Lake sailing club.

Again we took to the water. Letting the wind carry us out quickly. Then we had to climb against the wind to get back to the dock, the task kept everyone busy. My husband and the captain of the ship pulled on ropes all day. I was completely occupied with keeping the children happy. Not an easy task for two boys so young and quick to loose interest in a tiny space trapped on a vast template of water. Still, I dare say it is an experience my older son will never forget and I am sure the little guy learned something new.
Now after two days exploring the waters of Beaver Lake, perhaps my son knows where his water comes from. For knowing where your water originates is important information indeed!