Sep 2, 2008

Moments of Clarity and Contrast

This last week has been wild. US politics took center stage for a lot of people, with the DNC on the one hand and McCain's VP pick on the other. We've been ramping up at work getting ready for the Fall semester (classes started today). And here at home, Hadarya has been continuing her amazing growth and development and strengthening her grip on our hearts.

At Hadarya's terrific daycare center, they sit in a circle each morning and sing a song to welcome everyone to school. It goes, "Hi, hello, it's good to see _______" (with each child's and teacher's name filled in), and is accompanied by simple hand motions (clapping and patting the lap). Hadarya has taken to singing the song to us, Aba and Ima, which is cool because it shows her ability to insert novel thoughts into familiar situations, which is a neat developmental step I like noticing as a proud papa.

Over the weekend, though, after giving her a small baked good for breakfast, we heard, "Hi, hello, it's good to see... MUFFIN!"

Clarity in the midst of chaos.

We attend Shabbat morning services with Hadarya almost every week (and Friday night services somewhat less often), and she "knows" parts of the service and anticipates them with glee. Primary among these is the Torah service, when the aron kodesh (ark) is opened and the Torah scrolls are removed and marched around the sanctuary. Hadarya gets a huge grin on her face when the ark is opened and cheerfully kisses the Torah as it comes around.

The other day, she pulled out her stuffed Torah, a toy we haven't seen a lot of even though she got it when she was very young. She proceeded to march around the living room and sing, "Torah, Torah, Torah..." Aaahhh, the kvelling!

Clarity, again.

1 comment:

Kimber said...

Hi, hello. It's good to see my niece is developing such a healthy relationship with her assortment of breakfast pastries!