Hi @nlb,
no, if I may say so, you are not dumb at all. This thread did also help me to bring some more clarity. I have these questions during the course I give (and these are probable to pop up at any time) and now I am sure to be able to answer it.
See my grafic, which tries to explain exactly this point (as did the last part of Sam’s explanation). It is all about the fact, that your :hihats will try to sync every time the loop runs. This is a bit like, as if this loop was a musician, who after every bar needs a new start (“one… two… you know, what to do…”) In my example, it does sync one time and then goes on with its own timing. So it is actually listening to sync just once (and remember: the time rule says: a sync can only be recognised if it has happened in the past).
Hope that helps.