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
“O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” So proclaims Juliet on her balcony in Verona, Italy in the famous scene from Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. And while she wasn’t sure… Read More Hanging with the Capulets
One of my friends has been creating poetry modelled after famous poets. We’ve been having a bit of a poetry face-off on Facebook, writing these poems and having fun. I’ll share a few later. The poetry writing sparked an idea to write about one thing from my childhood, and this is what appeared. I hope… Read More The Dictionary in the Center of the House
Our safari started on a Monday morning, as the two enormous jeeps whirled into our hotel to collect us. We were on our way and were all very excited. It was about a four hour drive to the Ngorongoro Crater, and along the way, we saw many small Tanzanian towns and were able to observe… Read More Hakuna Matata! No Worries on Safari
I’ve been asked five times in the last week about the trip that we took last summer to Cyprus. I don’t know if there is something in the air…or people are just looking for some creative ideas for this summer…but I realized that I uncharacteristically didn’t write about our adventure last summer. The horror! And,… Read More Cyprus You Say? Well, Yes, We’ve Got Advice to Offer
I had one of those only-in-Israel moments today. I was in a terrible mood leaving Alon Shvut this afternoon, and started to turn towards home. There is a trempiada, a place where people wait to get rides, directly across from the exit of Alon Shvut. I don’t often stop there to give people rides since… Read More Boys in My Hood
I feel like I’m mobilizing an army. I’ve got a spreadsheet a mile long with each of their positions, wardrobe changes, carpool plans and more. I’ve got phone number lists up around the house, “Feed the Fish!” reminder signs, packed bags and frozen food. Here I am getting ready… And it’s almost game time.And I… Read More Recharging the Battery of Life
In 1993, when I was on a program in Israel called Project Otzma, we went to the Dead Sea and to Ein Gedi. And I believe that this is the last time that I’ve been to Ein Gedi. Ein Gedi, for those who don’t know, is a nature reserve right along the coast of the… Read More Part of the Team
14 years. They’ve been awesome years, but it’s still been 14 years since Josh and I have gone away by ourselves for more than one night. We’ve jumped through hoops here and there to escape the chaos for a few hours when a child was done nursing and the next one hadn’t yet arrived. But… Read More The Rhodes to a Long Awaited Vacation
