Growth and Development

"What My Child Learns of the Sea" deals in large part with the growth and development of both a mother and daughter through time. The speaker, as mother, mentions her own "ripening" as a way of comparing and contrasting the things that her daughter will learn both mentally and physically. Both the speaker and her daughter will continue to grow and develop as they grow older. The speaker has already developed into adulthood, so her daughter will only fully come to learn the kinds of things she knows when the speaker has reached her "autumn," or late-middle-aged years. Presumably, there comes a time in one's life (the "winter") when the learning process slows and one comes to terms with death. Early on, especially in infancy, the learning process is rapid and chaotic. Only during the "summer" and "autumn" years can one learn and reflect on a...