The furniture has been moved around, the walls re-painted, some of the toys have gone AWOL from the shelves, and the names of the children have been removed from their cubbies.
When I saw Raphaela's teacher today, the one woman who has been more responsible all year for my daughter than the other two on staff, she told me that today was her last before the end of the school year next week. She then told me that I have a "wonderful and special kid," and that she felt so proud yesterday as she watched Raphaela play with a large group of her classmates, confident and vocal. Quite a change from the beginning of the year, when her inner world full of imaginary friends was more appealing to her than human company, and when English dominated Hebrew in her speech.
Grateful for this year, I have begun to prepare Raphaela for the changes ahead. She knows that once Gan closes for the year she will attend camp, and after a minor vacation she will transfer to a new school with mostly new friends.
I find that children this age have a good grasp on certain linear time concepts: "Now," "Soon," "Later," "Tomorrow," and even "In a few days." And yet now that Raphaela understands the long term plan, she asks me every morning when she will go to her new Gan. Here's hoping that her enthusiasm takes us through the entire month of August.
I was thinking that humanity might be better off if we ditched linear time. Not only would we cease rushing from place to place and constantly checking our watches, but it would also afford us the opportunity to see Past-Present-Future as a true continuum. If we could understand even on the smallest level how our actions and thoughts today ripple backward and forward in time, we would stop worrying, because we would know that it all turns out OK, according to the Divine Plan.
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