Summertime Is....

Lounging on the porch swing for long, lazy afternoons

and golden-sun-kissed evenings,

Running around the backyard in your undies

with your "power sword" (repurposed baseball bat),

Learning to fly balsa wood airplanes,

and tearing through the backyard like a little lost boy,

complete with war paint,


for no reason at all,


till the sun goes down,


Unlimited playtime with Uncles and Aunties,




Bedtime-stalling french fry deliveries from pushover uncles,


Visits to Young's Dairy



for ice cream at "lunchtime"...

and to the Jet Freeze

 

for more ice cream

right after "dinner."

Thank you SO much,

Saba and Savta,

Auntie Al, Uncle Tad, and Uncle Steve,

for an incredible start to summer.

We'll miss you very much,

but we expect we'll have just as much fun when you visit us in Kansas City.

(After all, with family like this, every occasion is a party.)

Love,

Ashi, Rami, and Nesi

One Month Old

Dear Nesyah,

It is 4:45 AM.  You've been nursing since 3:45 AM, after allowing me a few hours' patchwork of sleep.  Finally, you start to slow down.  I watch your eyes begin to dream behind delicately closed lids.  Swaddled up in your co-sleeper, my hand cradling your bottom, you are sound asleep.  Your lips are pursed sweetly.  Your cheek is so soft.  My heart aches from your absolute beauty and my love for you.


The day will start soon enough.  (Brewing coffee.  Corralling your brothers out of pajamas, into clothes, sitting in seats and eating warm breakfasts.  Folding laundry.  Refereeing tackles and toy possession.  Responding to emails.  Reading storybooks.  Managing the constant cycle of dishes, dirty, clean, in use.  Editing photos.  Preparing meals.  Kissing bumped heads.  Clipping coupons.  Wiping noses, counter tops, and bottoms.)
Nursing you, every two hours, with one arm, doing everything else with the other.


I know that the more put-together I am, the better I'll feel.  A clean face, brushed teeth, a bit of mascara, a change of clothes, and managed hair will do it.  I roll out of bed, stumble in to the bathroom.  I just need 10 minutes.
Just as the water starts to get warm enough for me to wash my face,

you become outraged.  

In the other room, I hear you fuss, snort, and scream, indignant that body contact has been broken.

You are right.  It's not fair.  Each day should be made up of you and me, my little love, snuggling close, drifting off to sleep together, getting to know one another in a haze of adoration.

But you are (oh-so-lucky to be) a third born child.   

And so our days are instead made up of this dance.  

I try to be present in the moment, to remind myself that the time I spend feeding you is a luxury and not a burden.  I try not to think of everything else that must be done, to focus on what is being accomplished as you snuggle close, as your eyes drift shut, as you are comforted.  My heart aches with half-guilt, half-resentment when I must once again put you down and once again you squall in protest.

Then there are the pure moments.  When you curl up on my chest, sound asleep in pure contentment.  When your deep blue eyes stare into mine as though you are seeing something magical.  When you let forth the tiniest coo or sigh and I swear I have never heard anything sweeter.  This is when I mourn that a whole month has already flitted by.   

This is when I feel my heart start to settle into its love for you, 

to carve out a place that will be treasured up for you alone.

The absolute magic of your existence is being translated, day by day, into a person - you.  It is made up of those pure moments of unencumbered love from your Ima, but no less so of life's practicalities and your protests.  You have been born into a full life, one that I would not trade for my sake or yours.
Its realities mean that you are not afforded undivided attention at the same time that it means that you are surrounded by the love of brothers, a gift that will carry you long after Abba and I are gone.
 

You are quick to anger at losing what you want, which pains me now but bodes well for your future as a woman who will never settle for less than what she deserves, or for less than what is right.
Already, my heart swells with joy for the individual you are becoming.


This month has been difficult.  We are all learning new rhythms, coping with new circumstances.   We are learning about one another, and re-learning what it means to live this life day by day.  I pray that you are patient with me while I learn to mother you, as I pray for patience with you as you learn what it means to be in this world.

You are so dear to me, my sweet one, and I love you so very much.

Love,

Ima

Rami Needs...

...a better method for pretending to have eaten his dinner.

Seriously, this hiding-it-under-the-edge-of-his-plate-and-glaring-at-Ima method is not going to cut it.

Any tips to share with Rami?

Happy Shavuot - Chag Sameach!

It's Shavuot!  

(That's the holiday where we celebrate God giving the Jews the Torah.)


Since Abba and Ima are too exhausted and disheveled to dress decently and leave the house or have any guests over or celebrate the holiday in any normal way whatsoever 

Since we are so incredibly excited about Shavuot,

we decided to bake some cupcakes to celebrate.

We made the cake batter in lots of different colors 

to represent all the different types of people who received Torah

We mixed the colors together to represent all the different ways to experience Torah,

but did not under any circumstances put blue and yellow together

to represent that some things are never allowed in the Torah no matter what.

The white frosting is for the white clouds that covered the mountain,

and the sprinkles are for the people that stood there.

The chocolate wafers are luchot haBrit (the tablets of the Ten Commandments)

We made twelve cupcakes to represent the twelve tribes of Israel,

but got impatient to eat our treats and ate two of them after lunch

decided that it would be better to have ten cupcakes for the Ten Commandments.

Yum.

Happy Shavuot - Chag Sameach!

How to Be an Incredible Auntie

{The first installment in what will surely be a series.}

How to be an incredible auntie:

1.  When visiting your nephews and niece, come equipped with cookies the size of their heads.
2.  Give the children those cookies approximately 30 minutes before lunchtime.
 

3.  Feign surprise when the children then refuse to eat any lunch at lunchtime.
4.  Surreptitiously wink at, or high five, the cookie-stuffed nephews victoriously (Ima will only be able to  assume that this happened, given the surreptitiousness and all.)

5.  When the children wake up from their sugar-crash-induced nap, offer them cupcakes for a snack.

Best. Auntie. EVER.

The Tale of the Princess and the Pea

THERE was once a Prince who wished to marry a Princess; but then she must be a real Princess. He travelled all over the world in hopes of finding such a lady; but there was always something wrong. Princesses he found in plenty; but whether they were real Princesses it was impossible for him to decide, for now one thing, now another, seemed to him not quite right about the ladies. At last he returned to his palace quite cast down, because he wished so much to have a real Princess for his wife.

One evening a fearful tempest arose, it thundered and lightened, and the rain poured down from the sky in torrents: besides, it was as dark as pitch. All at once there was heard a violent knocking at the door, and the old King, the Prince's father, went out himself to open it.

It was a Princess who was standing outside the door. What with the rain and the wind, she was in a sad condition; the water trickled down from her hair, and her clothes clung to her body. She said she was a real Princess.

"Ah! we shall soon see that!" thought the old Queen Ima, however, she said not a word of what she was going to do;

but went quietly into the bedroom, took all the bed-clothes off the bed, and put three little peas on the bedstead. 

She then laid twenty mattresses one upon another over the three peas, and put twenty feather beds over the mattresses.

Upon this bed the Princess was to pass the night.

The next morning she was asked how she had slept.

"Oh, very badly indeed!"  she replied.

"I have scarcely closed my eyes the whole night through. 

I do not know what was in my bed, 

but I had something hard under me, 

and am all over black and blue!

It has hurt me so much!"

Now it was plain that the lady must be a real Princess, since she had been able to feel the three little peas through the twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds. 

(None but a real princess could have had such a delicate sense of feeling.)

The Prince accordingly made her his wife; being now convinced that he had found a real Princess. The three peas were however put into the cabinet of curiosities, where they are still to be seen. 

Wasn't this a lady of real delicacy?

by Hans Christian Andersen (a fabulous annotated version can be found at http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/princesspea/index.html)

Goodbye, Columbus

Back in 2003, David and I were lucky to meet at Hillel at The Ohio State University.
Beshert at first sight?  Probably not...but pretty close.
As I was falling in love with David, I was also falling in love with the idea of being a Hillel rabbi.
Five years later and nearing the end of my time in rabbinical school, our little family (now including baby Asher) was waiting to find out where my job search would land us.
I got a call from OSU Hillel.

They were looking for a new rabbi.  

Would I like to fly out for an interview?

Would I!?!?!?

Being a true Buckeye and huge fan of OSU Hillel, I was overjoyed.  
(How many people land their dream jobs right out of school?) 
David found a position in Columbus, we moved back home.  (Home!)

We love Ohio - truly.  Family is close by.  The weather is pretty nice.  Everyone is polite.  

(Plus, walking on the Ohio State campus TOTALLY blisses me out.)

We bought a little house and welcomed two more sweet little ones.

Sometimes stories really end in a happily-ever-after, 

but sometimes life throws you a curveball.

A few months ago, we unexpectedly learned that David would need to find a new work position.

After a long and exhaustive search, we're sad to say that there is no other such position for him here in Columbus.

 In just a few days, our little family will be making a big move to Kansas City.

I asked Asher if he was happy or sad to be moving to Kansas City.  

He told me he was sad.  I asked him what he would miss.  

He thought for a moment, then replied, "I'll miss Brutus."

Tears welled in my eyes.  I thought about what Asher is too young to realize - we can take his stuffed Brutus with him.  The Buckeye mascot is portable.  

What we can't take with us is what pains me so much - 

We can't take the amazing students we've met and dear friendships we've formed

We can't take every Shabbat and holiday we've grown to love celebrating with Hillel,

We can't take my dream job. (insert weeping here)

We can't take weekly fry-dates with Saba and lazy Sundays with Nana, Savta and Auntie Al.

We take some small comfort in the fact that Kansas City has a great zoo, and a  sweet children' s farm.
There is a large and vibrant Jewish community, and a synagogue where the kids can go to Preschool and an old friend will be our rabbi. 

Heck, they even have some Buckeyes. (Where aren't there Buckeyes?)  

And at the end of the day, we're grateful to have what we really need - 

a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, understanding friends, supportive family, 

and, of course, one another.

So, we sadly say goodbye to Columbus. We'll miss you SO much.
Thank you for an awesome two years.

We've shed quite a few tears.  For quite a few days.  

Like good Buckeyes, we'll always hold a dear, far superior place in our hearts for the 614.  

We hope to be back someday, that the words of the Alma Mater will be true for our family: 

"Time and change will surely show how firm thy friendship O-H-I-O."

What We've Been Up To....

Even if I had two hands free with which to write a proper post...

this shot pretty much sums up what we've been up to in the past week.

(Photo credit: Sarah Grinstein)

Thanks for your patience with me for slacking on the posts.  

These three little stinkers angels are still making lots of mischief memories, and as soon as I get a free moment to attach my scattered notes to punctuation and photos, you'll hear all about them.