Still learning

“Why do you have to hold my hand?” asked my son as we played in the breakers — waves crashing on our knees and hips.

“Because you can’t swim,” I replied.

And quickly correcting myself, “Because you’re still learning how to swim.”

The more efficient adjustment would have been to say, “Because you can’t swim … yet.”

When we talk about situations as permanent or changeable, it makes a difference.