Am I too optimistic?

Frequently, I forget that my daughter has Down syndrome. I forget that most kids do not "talk" with their hands, and that at two and a half, some little girls have even finished potty training rather than not even started. I see my daughter and all I see is an amazing little girl, a girl I love fiercely and of whom I am unabashedly proud.

Is that even close to what other people see when they look at her? When she says "baaah" and signs "more - ball - please", do people just see some poor kid who can't talk, or do they recognize the amount of communication that is really taking place?

I'm not sure why I'm thinking of this. Perhaps I was watching her at the pool today. She was having a great time, aside from the fact that she was exhausted. She kept wandering into the front office (I was right behind her), and exploring everything. I was so proud of how she was "talking" to me, but I got the sense that, to most of the people watching (grownups who know us from shul, and some other little kids), she seemed awfully "slow". It was interesting. I didn't feel the need to apologize, just to explain and clarify, but it made me aware that perhaps I see her through very different glasses than does the rest of the world.

Ok, enough introspection. I'm still crazy-in-love with my daughter! (Even if she did fall asleep at 5pm on the way home from the pool, stay asleep for the transfer from car to crib, stay asleep an hour later for the transfer back to the car, stay asleep on the ride to N's house, stay asleep for the transfer up to N's room, AND stay asleep through a Shiva with more than 50 people, only to wake up on the transfer back to the car. She's watching TV with us now.)

Micah had Kindergarten Visit this morning, and in less than 10 hours, both boys start SCHOOL!!!!!! I'll be doing the Mommy Dance.