Usha has talked about family quite a bit in the past few days. Yesterday I was on my laptop, catching up on some work I needed to get done. Usha was close by, watching me, and waiting to listen to music or lean more about computer. I told her to give me some time so she picked up a newspaper and started to try to read it. A few minutes later, I asked if she wanted me to help her learn to recognize a few letters in the Gujarati alphabet. It was a slow start, but she picked it up very quickly. Within 30 minutes she could recognize and write a few of of the letters.
It takes a lot of reminding to remember that she is only 9 or 10 years old. Because she is always caring for her 3 younger sisters, she comes off as if she has a family of her own. After she completes her work for the morning, she hurries back home to her mother who is now pregnant for the 8th time. Despite her height and her small stature, I often forget she is only around 9 years old. keep thinking she is much older than 9 or 10.