Tikkun Olam

I researched the history and origins of the popular Hallmark holiday Mother's Day , and found some interesting information about it.  It was started by a West Virginia women's community organizer named Ann Reeves Jarvis in order to improve sanitary conditions and lower infant mortality rates.  After her death, her daughter Anna began celebrating a special day to honor mothers--her mother, specifically--and thank them for all they had done for their children.  It mushroomed out of proportion to her original intentions and was officially declared a national holiday by president Woodrow Wilson in 1914, to be celebrated the 2nd Sunday in May. Although it's commercialized, I'm for any excuse to get together with family.  The best I could do way over here in Colorado, so far away from my kids and the rest of the family (my sister, my sisters-in-law, mother-in-law, etc. who are all out of state), is speak to all my kids, and 3 of my grandkids.  My kids sent me last ...

My oldest grandson's Bar-Mitzvah was a truly special event.  He is a wonderful boy.  He is loving.  He is kind.  He has a sense of humor.  And he has Down Syndrome.  My eldest daughter is a wonderful mother, who raised him to be the kind, loving young man he is today.  He has a wonderful Rabbi and Rebbetzin, who understand his situation, and show him love and kindness, gently moving him forward in Judaism, in small steps, so that he can feel the accomplishments; all the time, gently. The 'theme' for today's NaBloPoMo (which, in case you haven't a clue to what that word is, stands for "National Blog Posting Month" by BlogHer ) is, "Which daily tasks take up the most of your energy (does getting out of bed count?)?" So I am posting instead, what energizes me the most: being with the people I love.  Here are some photos of the milestone of Yaakov Yehoshua's Bar-Mitzvah.  Obviously, we can't show you photos of the Shabbat service when h...

This has happened to me before, and I even wrote about it, sort of, here .  There are too many subjects in which I am interested (-am I good? I didn't even end my sentence with a preposition!), and I come home from work--it being part-time notwithstanding--exhausted.  Too exhausted to sit in front of the PC and read, research and write much of anything. Actually, I've begun doing what the babies for whom I care do, but they do it in the morning: taking an afternoon snooze, around 4 p.m.  I get home from work around 3, give or take a half hour or so, depending on whether or not I stop along the way to do errands.  I manage to stay awake on the highway for 15.5 miles on the trip home (yes, I commute to work, approximately 31 miles a day round trip).  Then, a few minutes after I open the door and bring in my bag of stuff (don't ask me what this stuff is; I rarely if ever need any of it while at work. But I still bring that bag), it hits me: intense tiredness, a...

My almost-91/2-year-old granddaughter Noa has been with us for one week (she arrived last Friday) now, and she has been a pleasure! It is so wonderful to come home from work to a child in the house again, even though I come home exhausted--I 'teach' and care for babies this summer, who have become toddlers--every one of them is walking now--assisting the main teacher (who does the art projects, child portfolios and conferences. Don't miss that part of it) from morning to early afternoon, part-time.  It's hands-on, and very physical, down to strapping everybody into what I call the "baby train," a four-seater Kindervan, powered by teacher-power only, and going for daily walks around the neighborhood.  Sometimes we have seven children, and not enough strollers and adults to walk, but most of the time we have six, so the extra 2 are strapped into a double-stroller and off we go! But I digress.  I haven't had a kid here--either my kids, or grandkids-for a...

We have been in Israel almost six weeks, and except for a day or two, been going at a frenetic pace, helping our daughter moving to her new apartment, filling it up with her STUFF, and food STUFF, and other STUFF.  I have never seen so much STUFF...well, not really--I have, at our house back in the Old Country.  Basically, before we move here, if we do--we have to get rid of most of our STUFF.  Israeli apartments are no match for tons and tons of American...STUFF. In addition to the above, we have been taking our daughter to doctor visits and hospital visits and going to clinics and pharmacies, among other thing getting her prescriptions and medications.  We have met with her attorney.  I have seen on this trip more doctors, hospitals and attorneys all concentrated together in several weeks,  than I have in years. To top all that, it is literally pouring  cats and dogs here in Tel-Aviv right now.  I daresay it's pouring across the entire c...

We arrived here on January 24th, about three weeks ago, and received the surprise which I had almost not let myself hope for: there in the distance we saw, as we were pushing our two airport carts with great difficulty laden with our nine suitcases and bags-- yes, I said nine: we had bought two cheap suitcases at a Goodwill store and paid extra to bring them here, where they will stay; together with our carry-ons, purses/fanny packs, laptop and duty-free booze, it totaled nine--a slim girl with long curly hair in a wheelchair, and I said to myself, 'that couldn't be Rambo, she's so skinny...?'  And then she turned towards us and held up a hand-painted sign, written in Hebrew and English: "Bruchim ha-Ba'im, Eema and Abba!"  If you think at this point that I probably became a little emotional, you are right.  Actually I became a lot emotional.  I burst into tears and we both ran towards each other. Well, she wheeled , actually--much faster than I, by the w...

I have been "sick" since Chanukah with my acute nasopharingitis or chronic rhinosinusitis or GERD or whatever the heck this is, having been diagnosed, re-diagnosed, and misdiagnosed by various and sundry doctors, forever!  That is why the word 'sick' is in quotes.  I still, after all these years with the same symptoms, have no idea what this is that I have.  I have had no fever, no muscle aches, and alternately feel weak, tired, and constantly coughing up...well, never mind.  And I'm leaving for Israel in a week.  Just great.  Today I am feeling a bit better, but still coughing up, and losing my voice.  How to teach in that situation? No clue.  I do have a doctor appointment with my new (yes, another doctor) physician on Thursday, but that leaves very little time to get Rxs and rest up before flying. We will be in Israel for six weeks, and probably most of the time we will be helping our daughter, Rambo, with moving to another apartment, if she...

This is the time of year when I ruminate about my kids, grandkids and birthdays: winter and Chanukah time are special for us, and here is why: The months of November through March are of personal importance to me.  Our family birthdays are comcentrated in those months, children and grandchildren alike.  I'm a December baby (14th of the Hebrew month of Kislev), as is my sister.  Strangely, our first three children were born, respectively, in January, February and March.  The last two were back to January and December. Our grandchildren by our eldest started in December (the oldest will be turning twelve this month), then January, then December again.  For years we had one married child, and three grandchildren.  Then one day, many snows hence, the next two younger  kids married and started their families.  The first grandchildren by my third born (who married in 2007) followed the pattern--guess we just love winter--except that this t...

I was discussing parenting with my younger son, who has two toddlers, a three-year old and a two-year old.  He is discovering that's it's no picnic, raising children, especially when one or more is headstrong and leans towards...tantrums!  Let's face it, good parenting is very hard.  It has been said that one needs to take a driving course and earn a license to drive a car, but any person can be a parent, and there's no instruction manual that comes with the kid! Even a well-meaning, kind parent can become so frustrated with a screaming, tantrum-throwing child that he or she runs out of patience.  But one of the worst things to do is to scream back at the child or show intense anger--that just compounds the problem.  Most of the time, if it's a young, say, two-year old toddler who is "acting out" it is because he or she becomes frustrated at not being able to express himself/herself verbally.  Often, it's best to hold the child lovingly but firmly, a...

Just found out today my new granddaughter's name.  It is the name of a strong, brave Eishet Chayil from the Torah, as is her older sister's. Big sister's name is Naomi, of Ruth and Naomi fame--remember Naomi--meaning beautiful, pleasant, or delightful--was such a good, loving human being that her daughter-in-law, Ruth, did not want to leave her after Naomi's sons and husband died.  She loved G-d, and after her personal tragedies, returned to her people with Ruth, who accepted Judaism and the G-d of the Jewish people.  Encouraged by her mother-in-law, she later became Boaz's wife, from whom the future King David would descend. Naomi's new little sister's name is Yael.  Yael, who is written about in the book of Shoftim (Judges), was the brave woman who dared go out of her tent , using her beauty and feminine wiles to lure the evil Canaanite general Sisera who was attacking her people, into her tent, getting him drowsy with warm milk, covering and then kill...

I have some wonderful news--grandchild number seven (כן ירבו), a girl, was born today to my son and daughter-in-law in Gedera!!  A Shabbat baby, she weighed in at 3.38 kilo, about  7.45 lbs! We saw the message indicator on our phone flashing red and were on shpilkes waiting for Shabbat to end so we could run upstairs to the computer, access our VoIP account (no more landlines) and listen to the message, which we knew was coming, because we spoke to our son erev Shabbat and his wife was already at the hospital in Petach Tikva! Here is a first photo, of Rambo holding her new little niece. They both of them look good, Baruch Hashem! May there be many, many more healthy and happy babies!  There is nothing as important as family...

(nablopomo day 14) Left early this morning for a flight home.  The flight was good, we arrived a little early--made up for taking off fifteen minutes late--and I was exhausted.  Took an hour-and-a-half nap at 3:00 p.m.! The leave-taking was hard, as it always is for me.  Hugging and kissing the kids--grand and regular--and saying I love them and will miss them is difficult ("goodbyes" are not one of my strong points).  I told my grandkids that we will write letters to each other and send pictures. My middle daughter always calls me when she walks the dog, so I expect to hear from her soon. My eldest will be too busy working to call, but that's who she is: she is always running.  Maybe she is running from something as well as to something; but running she is, to work, to take her grandma places (shopping, lunch, doctor's appointment, etc.), to take the kids back and forth from camp (and during the winter, school), shopping, photo shoots, etc. Too tired ...

(nablopomo day 13) Today, Tuesday, is my last day here, on this surprise-gift vacation-visit to my children and grandchildren.  Actually, I have much more family here than merely them; I also have my D. H.'s family here: his mom, sister and brother-in-law, and his brother-in-law's sister and husband with whom we are close, as well. But because nobody knew I was coming (-if they had, they would've baked a cake. But you're too young to remember that song...), both my sister-in-law and her family and my sister-in-law's sister-in-law, whom I am also close with ('cause she reads my blog. Just kidding: 'cause she's a great person, and just happens to be a relative, relatively speaking. But she does read my blog. I think. She'd better.) were not here. My D.H.'s sister and fam were on a cruise to Alaska , believe it or not. Why couldn't I be on a cruise to Alaska?  That is actually one of our dreams for after we win THE BIG ONE on Powerball ...

(nablopomo day 12) I should have said, 'second verse, same as the first, only MORE so!'  Today, my grandson took a day off from day camp at the Y, to go with his Savta to an extraordinary place called Wannado City . After training as a fireman, riding in a fire engine and putting out a building on fire with real water (it's amazing; that building fire was put out again and again, and it kept catching fire over and over again), my grandson re-trained in a new career and learned how to prevent ticks and fleas on dogs and cats. The veterinary training culminated in an 'operation' where my grandson held the endoscope which explored a very sick 'doggie's' tummy to find the key that he swallowed.  I swear I thought that dog was real at first (his 'chest' rose and fell in breathing motion); poor thing didn't know kids from 2-13 were working on him with their grubby hands... Last but not least, he decided to be a dentist, and 'trained' ...

(nabloppmo day 9) I am writing this post erev Shabbat* from sunny south_______, where I am (suddenly!) here visiting two of my kids, my son-in-law, and three of my grandkids.  This is a last-minute gift from someone (thank you, D.!) who has a heart of gold.  So on 3 days notice I packed, called old friends to see if we can get together, and--arrived today, around 4:00 p.m. local time.  It is a very, very short visit: five full days, two half-days of travel.  Better a short visit, than no visit, I say.  I will get to see my mom-in-law whom I haven't seen in at least a year and who is approaching her 89th birthday ( ad me'ah ve-esrim shanah *), and although these two daughters came with the grandkids for Pesach *, I was pretty sick then with a bout of bronchitis, didn't go with them to the mountains on their sledding trip on chol ha-mo'ed *, and didn't have much energy for anything (let alone "making Pesach," which my husband did almost entirely by himsel...

(nablopomo day 29) I was in a rush to get my post and pictures in yesterday, so I didn't pontificate on the significance of the name "Naomi." I remember, when my first Israeli grandson was born to my younger son, Nathaniel Blumenstein, I waxed eloquent ( or rather, my son did--I just copied and pasted his stuff!) on the meaning and significance of his name, Gavriel (which is translated as "Gabriel" in English) on my post back in November '08 after his birth, here . As is Gavriel, Naomi, too, is a special name.  It is Hebrew, originating in the TaNaCH in the book of Ruth.  Naomi was the mother-in-law of Ruth.  It means "my delight," coming from the Hebrew word, no'am , which is "pleasantness" or "delightfulness." The shoresh , or root, is " na-em ," which is 'pleasant' or 'lovely.'  The infinitive, " li-n'om , " means "to be pleasant." Hebrew grammar has seven different ...

(nablopomo day 28) Finally I have some photos to post of my new little grandaughter, Naomi.  I actually mentioned her name in my response to a comment on yesterday's post, not having realized that I never disclosed her name in that post! So, her name is Naomi, and here she is! D. H. says they're not high-resolution.  I say they are higher than high!  Or maybe that's me: I am higher than high!

 (nablopomo day 27) I was on pins and needles all Thursday and Friday, knowing that my daughter-in-law's due date had passed (June 24th), and not having  heard a word. Then, around 12:30 p.m. on Shabbat, the phone rang.  I jumped up and ran to look at the caller I.D. As you might already know from reading this blog (-you do read this blog, don't you?!), we are Jewish and observant, and consequently do not use the phone on Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath. So basically, all I could do with the phone was... look at it!.  I saw that it was a call from Israel, so I rapidly slid down the bannister (well, not exactly, but it sure felt like it) to the main level in our townhome, where the kitchen is and our phone recording machine, and hopped from one leg to the other waiting for the message (bet you didn't know I could hop, either). Sure enough, it was my older son, Mr. Arnold Mayergi , sounding excited and exhausted at the same time--don't they always go together, th...

It is raining a coldish, shivery spring rain.  I am sitting here at the computer in my “office”--the room which I still call ‘C----‘s room’--by the window, listening to the rain pouring down the downspout against the brick outer wall of our townhome and onto the ground. In fact, I am consciously calling this room by that name, that is: the room of my youngest child, and I stop myself when I find myself beginning to say ‘my office’ when I refer to it either to friends, or even to my husband. I know I wrote sometime back that I am metamorphosing as a mother; that I am beginning to accept my children as adults, as well as my role as grandmother to my grandkids.  But that is not the whole truth, only just…most of it. There is still a small part of me that does not want to make that final, emotional leap out of the past and into the future by calling the room in which my youngest daughter spent a very small fraction of her life, actually—she was here in this townhome where we ...

I always defined myself as a mother of my children.  I even have that description in my "about" page on my blog.  It is so true: I used to be--many, many snows ago--the original "Earth Mother".  I have a mental image of me, walking somewhere with four children: with an older child (ten, perhaps?) pushing a little one in a stroller, my holding a four-year old's hand, and an older baby in a backpack on my back.  I so loved being pregnant, having children, raising them--just being a mother.  That is how I defined myself, for years and years (I have five, Baruch Hashem).  And then, without warning, everything changed.  It's funny how I was not even aware of it; my eldest had moved out of the house long before (there is a 17 year difference between her and my youngest).  Then, in 2003, my sons moved out together--to live overseas.  And in 2004, my baby, then only fifteen, moved to that same country to attend three years of high school and then, ...