Comfort, Courage and Clarity

The New Bubby I just went to drop my baby off at the babysitter. A woman I didn’t recognize was conversing with the babysitter, who introduced her to me as her aunt. The aunt was beaming. Her daughter had just given birth. She was clearly very excited and filled with joy at being able to help out with her grandchild, the new baby’s older sibling. I watched [...]

Missing My Friend Dear Devorah, (name changed) I miss you so much, and I yearn to speak to you. I want to know what is going on for you. What is it like up there? We used to talk so much. Years ago, when I used to stop by your house for a quick visit, my children would make fun of me. Oh, a quick visit, they would say. Okay, [...]

A Heartfelt Dream I have a dream. It changes from time to time. Sometimes it’s a dream of doing something massive l’iluy nishmas my parents and siblings, such as writing a Sefer Torah or donating enough money to build a yeshivah. Sometimes the dream is smaller, such as making small donations to different tzedakah organizations or even donating a few siddurim to a shul. Sometimes my dream [...]

My Bubby Dear Bubby, Last week I walked into a wedding and was immediately greeted with excitement by some fellow Detroiters. “We saw the video of your grandmother. It is going viral.  It is amazing.” I don’t know if it is going viral or not. But yes, it is amazing. There you are being greeted in Bun Gurion airport by a slew of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, ka”h. [...]

Dancing Off the Plane I felt like dancing off that plane after sitting in cramped quarters on a six-hour flight to Los Angeles. But after exiting the airport into beautiful fresh air, I felt it was all worth it. I had come to this city in honor of my nephew’s bar mitzvah. And my husband and I took advantage by arriving a day early to enjoy sunny [...]

A Minute at the Bus Stop My son Moishy, who is in mesivta, missed his very early morning bus to yeshivah. He came home, ordered a taxi for himself, and was off. End of story. Actually, it isn’t even much of a story for there to be an ending. Or so I thought. Later that evening, he explained to me that the bus comes anywhere from 6:55 [...]