Parents all around the country are celebrating the beginning of the new school year. I get it. I remember those years of looking at the vast, empty expanse of the August calendar and wondering how in the world I was going to entertain the kids while continuing to work and remaining in the black in… Read More September 1 Blues
Yes, Israel is a small country. And yes, it feels like half of it goes up North in August (and the other half leaves for European hiking and beach locations). But it still surprises me every time that my kids run into their friends while we are on vacation. We just returned from a 4… Read More Where Everybody Knows Your Name
So you’ll have to accept my apology before I start this blog post. Well, I guess I should have apologized before you read the title. Oh well. This post is about a product that swears. You can’t talk about this product without the “F” word. So while I try not to swear in real life,… Read More A Great F***ing Experience
“Look guys!” I said to the kids standing near me in our house, “It’s the house you didn’t grow up in!” I pointed to the picture of Eliav, our 12-year-old, standing in front of our old house in Potomac. To him, to his little brothers, and even to one of his older brothers, it’s just… Read More Nostalgia, Thy Name is Potomac
I’ve become impatient as I’ve aged. Or maybe more discerning. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between the two. Ironically, as the kids have grown and I’ve found myself with more time for reading, I’ve become less patient with the books I read and less willing to just stick it out. Because really, if I can’t… Read More The Power in Putting Down Books
For each of the boys’ bar mitzvahs, we’ve had them take a percentage of their gift money and use it for some meaningful giving project. Amichai spent a lot of time thinking about something that he wanted to donate his money to, and he just couldn’t find a project that would feel hands-on and meaningful… Read More A Bar Mitzvah Boy Connects
Do you have an author whose books make you feel like you’re reconnecting with an old friend? I hope you do. This is how I feel every time that I open a Catherine Ryan Hyde book. Many books are hard work to read. It takes time to get into them, to understand the plot and… Read More Back With My Old Friends
I haven’t had a chance to write about recent book loves. Of course, anyone who wants my constant play-by-play can join me on Goodreads. There are a few particularly compelling books, however, that I wanted to discuss at more length. I’d love to hear your thoughts and to know what you’re reading as well. Not… Read More 4 Recent Reads to Recommend
We’ve spent a lot of time traveling around the country, but we’ve never managed to get ourselves as a family unit to Kiryat Shemona and the surrounding area. So this year, I decided that this would be our destination for Pesach (Passover). We spend a few days each chol hamoed (the interim days of Pesach)… Read More 4 Treasures in Northern Israel
It could have been the making of a great reality TV show – pit a family of 8 against poison ivy, barbed wire fences and broken trails and see if they can get out in one piece. But it wasn’t a reality TV show last week – it was just our reality. We spent three… Read More The Blue Trail
