E. relates.

Remember how the Little One missed her brothers when they were at camp? How she got so sad?

The boys were told about it, and thought it was cute. At least, M. did. E. just smiled and moved on. But last week, when we were on our way home from visiting S., and the little One was kvetching, E. leaned forward and asked her, "Are you sad?" And in a broken voice, she said, "Yes (sniff)".

Of course, he said it with a smile, because he was pleased with himself that he remembered. Which was a little disconcerting. But I was so pleased with him.

Another small yet important thing:

We recently had ourselves a fast day, Tisha B'Av. E. likes to be big, so we told him that if he likes he may fast from the beginning of the fast day (8PM at night) until breakfast the next morning.

That involved one hour until he headed off for shul (synagogue), and then five minutes before bed. Doesn't seem like much for a kid his age, but he eats a lot, both because his meds make him hungry and because he eats when he wants, without the intermediary thought of, "Do I have permission?" or "Now that I took my food, should I close the fridge before I eat?"

At 8:10, E. wen to the fridge, out of habit. He opened it, looked inside, and stopped. Then he closed it and asked me, "Ima, since I cannot eat, what should I do?"

Impulse control for a higher purpose. So cool.