There is a lot you can learn from a 7-year-old.

My education came over the weekend while at a family gathering in Virginia Beach. A good-sized group from my dad’s side of the family is enjoying a week there, complete with some of his cousins and their kids.

Sunday night we shared a nice meal at a local pizza place, where I sat next to my second cousin, Ellie. She is happy to tell you about a lot of things in our world, and even some that may only occur in hers.

We were facing a television that was mounted in one corner of the restaurant, and a somewhat new commercial starring Julia Stiles came on. Ellie was quick to tell me that Ms. Stiles was wearing too much eyeshadow. Now I know.

She also went into great detail about just the right amount of lemonade to sip at one time. You don’t want too much, of course. That would result in too much sugar and wouldn’t taste right. Then again, you don’t want too little, lest you not get enough flavor. So enjoy your lemonade in moderation — it is the best drink ever made.

You may not be aware, but I also have magic skills. They are not as advanced as Ellie’s, but they are there nonetheless. I am only at Level 1 (I don’t know how many levels there are, I’ll have to check), while she is an advanced Level 3. Apparently you can go up to the next level on your birthday, but sometimes you aren’t ready and have to wait until next year. I will be interested to see what happens in August, though I may not have been practicing enough to get a magic promotion.

If you need to work on your skills, you can always go to Magic School. Ellie told me her uncle has been to such a school (her dad told me the uncle can do some magic tricks). I said maybe I could go to an online program, though I wasn’t sure if such a thing existed. Ellie said that was okay, I could always start one of my own and call it MagicSchool.com. I am sad to report that such a site already exists.

I understand that you may doubt our magic ability. But I ask to you consider the following: We became slightly impatient about getting our food, so we decided to use the magic to make it arrive at our table. We “warmed up” our magic, closed our fists, and on the count of three we opened our hands in the direction of the kitchen. Not one minute later, several pizzas were placed right in front of us. (In fairness, the waiter had just come by and put the little elevated stands that hold the pizza, so it’s possible the pizzas would have come anyway).

She went to the restroom at one point and asked if I could watch her drink — “Make sure NOBODY messes with it!” Naturally I moved it to a different table, and she asked what happened to it. I said that an elf came and stole it. She said she didn’t believe me. Then she quickly decided she had in fact seen the elf run by while she was gone. I wanted to make sure we were talking about the same elf, so I asked her to describe it. It was pretty much like a typical leprechaun, except he was wearing a red suit along with a red hat with a big white feather in it. The elf has many of the exact same hat, though he has one — just one — that has a black feather. He wears that one for special occasions.

That, my friends, is what you can learn from a 7-year-old during just one meal.

Ellie and I after dinner

I always find it interesting to experience something and then read an article or part of a book soon afterwards that directly speaks to that experience. The day after this enlightening meal I read the cover story from last week’s issue of Newsweek called “The Creativity Crisis.”

The story is a bit long, but if you spend any time around kids or creative people, you should find it to be pretty interesting. The basic argument is that kids today are not as creative, owing to more time in front of video screens and less time figuring out ways to amuse themselves.

Part of the article talks about the different phases that creative kids go through in their development.

“In middle childhood, kids sometimes create paracosms — fantasies of entire alternative worlds. Kids revisit their paracosms repeatedly, sometimes for months, and even create languages spoken there. This type of play peaks at age 9 or 10, and it’s a very strong sign of future creativity. A Michigan State University study of MacArthur ‘genius award’ winners found a remarkably high rate of paracosm creation in their childhoods.”

Ellie and I first discussed our magic abilities a year ago during a rousing bocce ball match at my parents’ house. I am pretty sure we conjured our way to victory.

If she goes on to invent something amazing, you heard it here first.