Last week my son got engaged. We are over-the-moon happy and can’t wait for this couple to start their lives together. As I was walking to shul on Shabbat and thinking about his life and the arcs it has taken, I was overcome by the movie of his life. It all felt like snapshots….and they’ve… Read More Snapshots
Yesterday, this pictures in my Facebook memories took me back so clearly to the feeling of being an exhausted young mom. I actually recall that I wrote a blog about the picture on that day, July 6, 2011. *********************** In the blog I wrote: This afternoon Matan was bugging me to take him to the… Read More Inflatable Wisdom From a Reflective Mom
This sits at the entrance to my house. It’s next to the ever-present poyke pot, the bikes, scooters, soccer balls, and abandoned flower pots. Mingled among all of that activity sits a piece of a rocket, shot from Gaza on October 8, 2023 and intended to kill my 17 year old son. And it nearly… Read More The Rocket at my Door
There is a practice during the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to ask forgiveness. While getting ourselves spiritually ready for the new year and facing Hashem’s decrees for the year on Yom Kippur, we are also supposed to set things right with the people in our lives. It’s a beautiful idea, but… Read More Forgive Me, Dear Children
This picture captures my son’s personality like no other. He loves adventure, he loves animals, and he loves being silly. He’s currently relishing time in Thailand with Josh and his post-army brother and I look at this picture and simply marvel at where we have been; and where he is now. Let me explain… There… Read More Broken Tiles & Beautiful Elephants
Yakir graduates from 8th grade tonight. What a journey it has been, and what a change we (his parents) have coming since he’s following his brothers to a high school model where he will sleep out much of the week. I’ve been reflecting on what it must be like for Yakir to be the youngest… Read More Watch Out World…Yakir Is Heading to High School
Recently, my dad asked me if I could pull up all of our first day of school pictures through the years. We actually have them framed together in the house, but I haven’t presented them all in one place like this before. So here you are, dad. The days really are long when you have… Read More The End of an Era
August can be a really hard month as a parent in Israel. The country loves its children. And the country has a very high percentage of families who rely on two incomes. And yet, for some reason that I have yet to understand after 19 years, there are very few camp choices for kids in… Read More The Sussmans Take August
My Aliyah baby left the house today for life’s next stage. After graduating high school, it’s time for him to spread his wings a bit and enjoy learning further afield. He thinks, as the third child, that the change is no big deal to us. That we’ve done this already with two others and we… Read More And He’s Off
Everyone knows that Facebook doesn’t tell the whole story. Sometimes it tells half of it; sometimes it’s a third. But it’s rarely the whole picture. Two weeks ago was, to put it mildly, very crazy in our house. One kid had a basketball accident which required a trip to the emergency center, then a trip… Read More Fire at 51: A bit too much drama for my birthday
