Ralph's Notes

Ralph has been, for most of the month, a quiet observer and patient role model for Ayla. He mentions things to me quietly when we are alone. A few weeks ago he observed that she takes her pants off the same way I do, pants and undies come off together and then get thrown still "joined" into the hamper for washing. On Friday night when Ayla and Ralph left me at the restaurant for the "late shift" partying, he had sent her up to get changed while he put the cover over the bike. A few minutes later she came down and said, "Uncle Ralph, can you help me?" Her side zipper needed undoing, something Ralph helps me with all the time. He just had to smile. The little girl growing up makes him smile often, which is nice to see. He likes to tease her and I think he misses the days when she would just sit there and ramble at him about her day. Now she takes a bit more coaxing, something he's not yet accustomed to, but he's getting there. Last night was house cleaning night and she said she wanted to do the grass. I told her she was welcome to the job, and to get Uncle Ralph to show her where the lawn mower was. Well, she worked on the yard for well over an hour, and Ralph was very impressed by how well she applied herself. Of course, he was also a bit disappointed he had underutilized her mowing skills for the balance of the month...