I might hold the record for having given the most single birthday parties. Each of my kids (triplets) had his/her own party from age two years old on up. It’s not that I am a glutton for punishment; it’s that there’s not much that is all yours besides your name and your birthday. In the case of triplets, the need is magnified. So I bought into the whole birthday party phenomenon. The majority of my kids’ parties happened in our yard because we had the space. They ran the gamut: Olympics … [Read more...] about Whose Birthday Party Is It?
Holidays
The Un-Resolution
I don’t like New Year’s resolutions. They scream failure. It doesn’t start that way. But inevitably the best laid plans… Two weeks into that new diet, that exercise routine, that tidy bedroom, and it’s back to square one and self-flagellation. Oh well, maybe next year. That doesn’t mean there aren’t many things I could or should change about myself. In fact, the list is embarrassingly long, and it would take many New Years to work my way through it, failure after failure. Recently I watched … [Read more...] about The Un-Resolution
Holiday Envy
Let’s face it, Christmas is everywhere. Even in cities heavily populated by Chanukah celebrants, Christmas rules, as the streets are dressed in sparkles and twinkle lights and red and green and fa la la. It’s no wonder that cries of “I want to have a Christmas tree!” fill Jewish air space. The omnipresence of Christmas trappings fuels what is known as the “December Dilemma.” Many a Jewish parent recalls lusting after Christmas trees as a child, and that memory is enough to push her over the … [Read more...] about Holiday Envy
The Habit of Giving
There isn't a school around that doesn't step up the giving spirit as Thanksgiving and the winter holidays approach. Mini vans are jammed with cans of corn and candied yams to replenish the city's depleted food pantry shelves. Bags upon bags of gently used clothing are distributed throughout the city. All good, all much needed. But is that enough? Are these yearly drives going to teach our kids the habit of giving and sharing? Will they actually make them care about other people, animals, the … [Read more...] about The Habit of Giving
Whose Halloween is it?
Yesterday I watched a neighbor’s nanny drape the front shrubs with that spider webby stuff in anticipation of Halloween. Such fun, I thought. Then I noticed her charges, two little guys ages 8 and 5 were right there…watching. As far as I could tell, their job was to stand there and yell “Car coming!” when necessary. At the risk of repeating what I wrote in last year’s Halloween blog (Let Halloween Be the Kids’ Holiday), it’s time to remind you that the degree of memory-making fun in this … [Read more...] about Whose Halloween is it?
The Gift That Keeps On Giving
Every year my friend Freida gives me a surprising gift. Far out pop-up books, foodstuffs from the Homeboy Industries-Homegirl Catering and Kitchen, DVD’s of documentaries I might have missed. But this year’s is the best: Of Thee I Sing: A letter to my daughters by Barack Obama. I have been hearing about this book since its release, but shame on me for not reading it until now. It is my loss. Don’t let it be yours. Of Thee I Sing, a beautifully, joyfully illustrated book, will drop you … [Read more...] about The Gift That Keeps On Giving