“It is forbidden to live in a town that has no garden or greenery.” —Talmud Yerushalmi, Kiddushin 4:12 Preparing our final culture unit in Spanish 3 led me to a book on the bottom shelf, one I hadn’t used in a while: Torah and Trails: A Photographic Trail Guide Connecting Judaism with Nature by Margery … Read more
I was in a terrible rush yesterday morning when I was emptying the dishwasher. I had my reasons. I needed to reload it with dirty dishes before taking the dog out, before rushing to school, before…well, you get the idea. I’d spent all week catching up from having been out of town last weekend, and … Read more
Last night, I attended the live broadcast of the 20th annual Poetry & the Creative Mind gala of the Academy of American Poets. This celebration o f National Poetry Month doubles as a fundraiser to help underwrite the Academy’s education programs, which provide 60,000 K-12 classroom teachers each year with free resources—including online lesson plans—to … Read more
The Passover dishes are packed away for next year. Tablecloths and napkins—stains painstakingly removed—wait patiently in their basket until later this afternoon, when they’ll be returned to the table for Shabbat dinner. Sweet memories of our daughter’s whirlwind visit and my school break spent connecting with family and friends coalesce into Our Passover Story 2023, … Read more
“I believe in the soul of the underdog. The one who has to struggle for the victory, who learns that the challenges she overcomes to achieve it make it all the sweeter.” I wrote these words fifteen years ago, the opening lines in an essay for NPR’s “This I Believe” series. I was thinking about … Read more
Homegoing and Transcendent Kingdom, both by Yaa Gyasi, a celebrated young author. The Days of Afrekete, by Asali Solomon, a professor of English at Haverford College. I wasn’t intentionally reading these books because it was Black History Month. But when I realized that I’d read three books by Black women in the first three weeks … Read more
As the clock ran out on the Eagles’ last play of the game, after the Chiefs’ kicker sent the ball sailing through the goalpost for the winning field goal, our eldest turned to us and said, “You know, the real winner of the Super Bowl is that mom.” She was referring to Donna Kelce, who … Read more
It’s difficult to believe it’s been 3 weeks since I posted any news here. I can’t really explain why—I suppose I could offer the excuse that I have limited use of my “mouse hand,” but this would be disingenuous. The splint protecting my right CMC joint is definitely a help not a hindrance. Perhaps the … Read more
I thought my relationship with Resurgens Orthopaedics would be more of an affair than a long-term thing. I was wrong. You may remember the story of how it all started. Perhaps you read about the incident involving two dogs, one leash, a fire hydrant and Hailey, which I blogged about twice: after the fall, when … Read more
בָּ֭עֶרֶב יָלִ֥ין בֶּ֗כִי וְלַבֹּ֥קֶר רִנָּֽה Tears may linger when night falls, but joy arrives with the dawn. (Psalms 30:6) My list of those in need of healing grows longer as the days get shorter. I wake up in the dark, sometime between 5:15 and 5:30 AM, and wonder at the Psalmist’s conviction. Each day I arrive … Read more