Grazie Mille, Mr Giorgio Armani

Reminiscing about my son MB's Bar Mitzvah, (see the previous two posts), has brought back fond memories of the preparations towards that big day and also a story about the dress I chose to wear at the dancing party we held for family and friends after the synagogue.

So here's the story.

I needed a dress. A party dress. A happy dress. And whenever I need a happy dress the person I think of is Giorgio. Yes. Giorgio. Giorgio Armani. The Italiano.

Bar Mitzvah story: a retrospective of the big day-part 1

A few days before we celebrated the Jewish New Year it occurred to me that we were exiting my son's Bar Mitzvah year. It also occurred to me that most of the posts in this blog have been about My Girl (MG) and not much has been said about My Boy (MB). So this one is for you, MB.

We're off. China here we come!

Just to let you know we are off on holiday. China. Hopefully I'll be able to keep you posted on experiences from whereever I am. All is packed and we are ready to go. Beijing and Yunan Province are our destinations. I am very excited and a bit nervous too...everything will be so new. So bye for now.

Photo caption: Beijing
pertraviagens.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/bei...

That damn "M" word

Ok. Here I am again. Sorry for not having updated for so long, but it has been hectic. I had a work project that never ended. At the same time my in-laws visited from abroad for three weeks. Then the children finished school and I started making plans to refurbish the house. I am NOT looking forward to that. We are also going on holiday to China (believe it or not) in a few days. So the buildup of all this has been very big.

Anyway. In the time I have been away from this blog something major has happened.

I have become officially old.

He took our breath away!

Thank you Sir Elton John for an enchanting, exciting, and emotional night. You took our breath away indeed.

To see excerpts of the evening click on this link to the YNET news website. It is in hebrew, but the pictures say it all.

http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3906877,00.html

Photo by Yaron Berner, Ynet.

Welcome to Israel, Sir Elton John

I can't wait. Tonight is the night. Elton John is landing in Israel in a couple of hours and will be performing tonight in the Ramat Gan Stadium. Thousands of fans, among them my family and myself, will be pouring down the streets and making their way on foot, bike, taxis, buses and motorbikes to the stadium. Cellphones and maybe candles in hand, we will illuminate the warm night and show him how much we love him and his songs.

Happy Mother's Day

On the tail of Mother's day, which some parts of the world celebrated this week, I have to tell you about an article I read in the New York Times (NYT) on May 6. (By the way. Mother's day in Israel has been renamed “family day”, in which the whole family is celebrated and not just the mother).


Written by NYT columnist Anand Giridharadas, the article, titled “New leaders find strength in diversity”, talks about an emergent breed of hybrid leaders – those who belong to “multiple worlds and who carry those worlds with them.”

A phone conversation this morning in Israel

This is how my phone conversation went this morning (more or less).

Girl: "Hello, this is the Israel Postal Company. How can I help you?"

ME: "Umm, it's about the gas masks."

Girl: "Yes?"

ME: "I need to order my gas masks."

Israel at 62

As we celebrated Israel's 62 years of independence last Tuesday - with parties and bar-b-que fests, here are some off-the-beaten-track facts about Israel for you to know. (Courtesy of the daily newspaper Israel Today).

All-of-a-kind families

We spent the weekend on Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), at a wonderful site called Karei Deshe- a youth hostel right at the steps of the lake with lush gardens and a wide common outdoor area where you can sit around and chat.

MM (MyMan), MG (MyGirl) and I went for the weekend. MB(MyBoy) stayed in Tel Aviv. He had a friend's overnight birthday party and was planning to come home on Saturday and recover some lost hours of sleep.

The reason for our trip was our twice yearly meeting with parents who have adopted children of Ethiopian origin. The group was formed some 20 years ago, with the first adopted children. Today the mailing list of the group numbers around 73 families. Not everyone comes to these meetings of course,  but there are always a significant representative number and the meetings are always fun. We generally have a Friday night meal at the hotel/hostel we are staying in and on Saturday we have a joint picnic. Each family brings something from home. We put it all together and have a feast.

A prayer for our sons

Israel celebrates today Memorial Day for its fallen soldiers and victims of terror attacks. In ceremonies throughout the country Israelis mark the loss of children, parents, brothers or sisters. All feel humbled by the weight of bereavement.

On a day such as this I cannot but talk to you about the prayer that rises in the hearts of all Israeli mothers at the birth of their children.

A small victory in a big war

This is going to be a long post, so you'll have to bear with me.

My ten-year old daughter, MG, has started attending an Israeli folk-dancing class. She goes to it dressed in a black leotard and tights, with her shoulder-length curly hair gelled down tightly into a ponytail, black clips holding down any rebel curls. They do folkdancing steps, often in couples, clapping hands, swirling around and loudly yelling:"HEY HOP" . It looks like real fun indeed.

She used to love the class. She'd come back skipping, and singing and dancing the steps. A big smile on her happy face.

But she also happened to mention that most of the girls in her dancing class had received the "best dancer of the week" title the teacher conferred to the students. But not her. So I told her: "Don't worry. Just do your best. I am sure you will also get the recognition sometime."