What is the point the writer is making through the narrative?

The writer is examining the lengths to which her mother
has gone to give her an existence. The "leap" in the title is not about the physical
leaps by the flying acrobats, or the leap from a burning building, it is about the
metaphorical leap it takes to go beyond her own self and appreciate the selfless, brave
actions of her mother.

A pivotal moment that explains this
point is when she visits the grave of the sister that died as a baby, an older sister
that she never met. She admits that she viewed the gravestone as not a separate person,
but as an extension of herself.