Swings

Jessie could see, so she was a pain in the neck to get across the yard. As soon as she hit the asphalt, she grabbed the sides of her walker and ran for the bright blue and orange playscape, bouncing the walker ahead of her body and swinging along. Mollie let go of Isabel's hand as the little girl raced by, reached down, and grabbed the side of the walker. When the girl looked up, Mollie signed swings close to her face. Then Mollie pointed, and Jessie directed her running to the swings. Mollie let her run. The girl had the heart of a lion and could take a fall.

Mollie held onto Michael who kept trying to fall, swinging around her arm. Isabel held onto Mollie's other hand while Mollie chatted quietly with her in Spanish. The assistant, Ellie, pushed Janeen in the stroller because there were only so many hands, and Jessie could ride the stroller back if she got tired or insisted on going her own way. Mollie had been walking groups of blind children with serious disabilities across that yard for more than ten years. An outsider might think she the scene somewhat chaotic, but Mollie knew every child and every inch of asphalt, and she knew kids needed to run and swing and be a little wild, even when they couldn't see and wore braces.

When the little group reached the swings, Mollie signed to Jessie, wait, lifted Michael on to a swing, strapped him in, and gave him a push. She grabbed Janeen from the stroller got her going on another swing with a little push. She signed to Jessie, come, sit, lifted her into the seat, strapped her in and gave her a huge push. Then she sat in a swing herself, lifted Isabel, sat her on her lap and swung gently for a few minutes. Ellie kept the others swinging. Mollie's mouth ran the whole time, telling the children what they were doing, nagging them like a mother.

Mollie said to Isabel, putting her down, ya, vas a jugar con carrucho solita. Isabel was terrified of the swings. She was from Guatamala, spoke a native dialect with Spanish as a second language. She could not see the other children have fun on the swings and she knew she never wanted to do that again after the first little push. So Mollie sat with Isabel on the swing while Isabel clung to her like a baby monkey, but happy. Then Mollile walked Isabel over to a toy car,sat her in it behind the plastic wheel, and said, estas bien orita. Yo estoy aqui. Tu puedes escucharme. Maneja a la tienda y comprame cookies y leche. Okay? Gracias. Then Mollie quickly walked over to Michael and said, Michael, what do you want? Michael did not reply, but his swing had stopped, so Mollie molded his hands into the sign for more and said, More? You want more swing? and gave him a huge push. One, two, three! running behind the swing, pushing it into the air and shouting. Then she repeated the action with Janeen. You want more? One, two, three! Push, run! Then she stood in front of Jessie and signed and shouted because Jessie could hear a little too and yelled and signed What do you want? What? Show me! Suddenly Jessie signed More swing! laughing very hard and then she signed computer! Mollie ran and laughed very hard. She yelled and signed, No computer. What do you want? and then the four year old girl did it. The little girl laughing with the spirit of a lion laughed very hard and signed more. And then she said the word more using her lips, and voice and laughing eyes.