Giant Steps

I offer you these small moment of giant steps in Raphaela's journey:

We had a serious conversation yesterday about Superman, my six year old could not understand how simply putting on a pair of glasses made him unrecognizable to those who know him and work with him.

This morning, listening to the radio alarm, Raphaela got confused because they were singing a song about "rice cakes." (First time in her long life that she will get the words wrong to rock music.)

On the way to camp, we got stuck driving behind a learning driver, predictably weaving and terribly slow.  While I vented my frustration with Jerusalem driving, Raphaela said to me, "Mommy, there are learning drivers EVERYWHERE. Get over it."

Her camp is offering a fun option of a camping night sleep-over the last night of camp.  I gave Raphaela the details and she said, "I'm not ready for that yet.  I would miss you too much."  (When I was a life guard at a Jewish day camp in Boston, I always volunteered to be the extra staff person on the sleep overs; there is nothing more amazing than swimming in the lake at the crack of dawn.)

Speaking of swimming at camp, yesterday afternoon when we were trying to relax and escape the insufferable heat wave, Raphaela casually mentioned that she may have learned how to swim and that she had gone alone into the deep end of the pool by herself, for the first time.  I could not have been more excited and proud.