Because I knew you

On By thestampsinmypassportIn Uncategorized1 Comment

Today was a strange day. Traffic was light because people are still on holidays, and I was listening to music while driving to work. I had a bunch of different thoughts that I wanted to write about. I think I need to buy a tape recorder so that I can record my thoughts while I am in the car. I have a lot of thoughts during my commute to work and by the time I am somewhere stationary, other things are going on and I forget to write them down.

Today’s thought had to do with being the end of the year and thinking about what I wanted to share about my year. I will get to what I wanted to share in a moment, because when my co worker came through the door, the focus of my day shifted.

When my co-worker came into the office she looked really out of sorts. I knew it had been a busy weekend with our Christmas departures, but then she said, “oh you don’t know about the phone call last night”. No, I didn’t. Well, if you saw on the news about the accident on the 401 near Milton the other night, it was her very good friend’s daughter that was in the accident. And she didn’t survive. And she has a four year old daughter.

Hearing about the car accident, of course led me to tell her about my car accident, which of course led me to Aviva, which of course was what I wanted to write about today.

I wanted to talk about the memorial service that Aviva’s family had for her this past September. This year was ten years since she had passed away.

Her family invited close friends and family to Guelph to a memorial service. I remember being in the back seat of the car and thinking, I have never been to a ‘memorial’ service. Well of course I have. On Yom Kippur I always stay for the Yizkor service.

It was a beautiful sunny fall day and it was at the cemetery in Guelph, where the family lives. Family friends spoke, read poems, and the Rabbi said some warm and loving words. He explained how Aviva’s name is a palindrome and how when we all first came to the cemetery ten years early it was to mourn for her and now, ten years later, we can come back to the cemetery and take away Aviva’s lessons to the world.

Her oldest friend (since they were babies) spoke about all the different groups of people there that day. They even though we all didn’t start off knowing each other, that it was Aviva who brought us all together. I often feel like a connector between different people in my life, and I know she was one as well.

A week after her memorial service, I went to see Wicked with some friends. There are so many different messages in this play. I think it is a wonderful play, about friendship, diversity, the differences and at the core, sameness. There is a song at the end of the play, called “For Good”. It is a song about friendship and what people learn from each other. Friendship is a hard thing. Sometimes like in Wicked they have to walk away from the friendships. Sometimes you have choice, other times, you don’t.

“Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better, but because I knew you.
I have been changed for good.”

Some thoughts about Annie

On By thestampsinmypassportIn Uncategorized1 Comment

Earlier today I went to see Annie with my family. My mom, brother, sister in law and all three kids (plus one friend). Before I left the house I was on Facebook and someone wrote an update that basically said she had seen the movie and thanked them for ruining her childhood.

Ruining her childhood? Really? Because they decided to remake a movie and update it? I don’t really think you could call it a full “remake”. I think I would say that they took the adaptation of the original and made it current.

This year I saw Wicked and Les Miz. Both plays were not the first time for me. Both plays this year were revivals of the original plays. I even remember turning to a friend of mine during the production of Wicked and saying that this is a totally different play than I had seen before.

I will say that Jamie Foxx is not Albert Finney’s Daddy Warbucks. Cameron Diaz is not, and would never be Carol Burnett’s Mrs. Hannigan, and no one could beat Ann Reinking as Grace. The supporting original cast of Tim Curry and Bernadette Peters are not even in the movie. But of course my favourite city of New York is a beautiful supporting actress in the movie.

And of course, Jeffrey Holder, as Punjab passed away this year.

HOWEVER, the movie is current. It is the only way it could be. Otherwise why bother? They tweet, use cell phones, use smart technology all over the movie. There are new songs and they change some of the words of the original songs. They are called “foster children” and not orphans. I think that our kids will enjoy it because it is current to them. I turned to my almost 10 year old niece during the movie and said that Annie was about her age, which shortly after she said she was 10 so I was bang on. I would have been 11 in 1982 when the original movie came out, so it would have been the same for me as it was for my niece.

I don’t want to give away all the nuances in the movie. It is worth seeing. But not to go in with the attitude that is going to “ruin your childhood”. “We got Annie” back in our day, and these young kids have the “new” Annie. I don’t think this will be a classic like the original, but it is an enjoyable, holiday, family fun movie.

Writers Block

On By thestampsinmypassportIn Uncategorized4 Comments

For the past couple of weeks I have wanted to write, but feel like I have been blocked. I wrote a post last week and then deleted it. I am not sure if I am going to post this or not, but I think the only way to get out of the block is to write it and see where it goes.

For those of you who know me or have followed me for a while, you know that about two and half years ago I went on a life changing mission trip to Israel. The organization that was responsible for me being able to go is called JWRP (Jewish Womens Renaissance Project). It is a wonderful organization, started by women, led by women FOR women. I have nothing but the utmost respect for everything they are doing for the Jewish people, the State of Israel and most importantly for Jewish women.

The organization has been written up several times in the past few weeks in several Jewish Newspapers. The trip is touted as “birthright” for MOMS. The articles refer in the article to all the Jewish mothers arriving at the airport like excited young people on the traditional “birthright” trips.

The first lines on the JWRP website are:

“Inspire a woman, you inspire a family. Inspire enough families, you inspire a community. Inspire enough communities, you can change the world.”

On the last night of the trip our group sat in the lobby of the hotel with our Rebbitzen and we discussed what our responsibilities are when we come home. That we would continue to learn and keep the momentum that we were feeling at that moment in Israel alive. Classes, learning, every week. I have been doing that. I went in June 2012 and have been learning constantly since I have come home.

I have to be honest, before I went on this trip to Israel, I had my own person views on the observant world and how it sees the Jewish women. It has been amazing to learn that there is so much we don’t know, or just aren’t aware of the power of the Jewish woman. I have learned how important the Jewish woman is to her home, her family, her friends, her community. More than I ever knew before.

But the power of the Jewish woman, is not just the power of the Jewish MOTHER.

When I went on the trip, there were only 10% of the women from each group that were ‘like me’. When I say that I mean, not married or without children. I get the reasons why, and I fully appreciate them. There are many different trips to Israel one can choose to apply for. This particular one is meant for women who have children under 18 at home. I get it.

As a Jewish woman I will always remember what it felt like to stand at the Kotel with my Siddur and say prayers. I will also always remember what Shabbat at the Kotel felt like, dancing and singing with hundreds of Jewish women bringing Shabbat in.

I consider myself to be blessed in more ways I ever thought possible.

I know that I inspire people. I have been told. My mother shares my blogs with her friends and family and they write her back with amazing words of praise. I share my stories that I learn in my classes. I even took a friend of mine to the mega Challah bake over the Global Shabbat back in October. I know that she was affected by the power of the Mitzvah of Challah. I know that I changed something in her life. That is the power of a Jewish WOMAN.

I am grateful. I am thankful for everything that I have received since going on my trip to Israel. Lessons are around us every day, with every step, with every word. They don’t always make sense at the time but with time, they will make sense.