Saving the Day

I have been feeling so week and tired lately.  No one knows why.

Everyone promised I would feel rejuvinated after receiving two portions of blood.

I do not.

I am still weak and tired.

I could not move on Monday morning.  God made a miracle and gave me enough energy so that I could drag myself to the pool and teach on Monday afternoon.

I would have crashed on Monday night, but Monday was my anniversary, so I went with Moshe, as we do every year, to sit in the garden where we were married.  It might not seem exciting, but the experience is quite special to us.

Tuesday morning, I would have loved to sleep in, but I really wanted to attend my art class.  I actually dragged myself up and out of the house in time to arrive on time.

I just drove down the hill when my phone rang.  My eldest daughter, who is a madricha (counselor/advisor) for B'nei Akiva (youth group) had hosted a sleepover for her chanichot (kids) the night before and had woken up early to take them all swimming in the pool in Tekoa (a neighboring town).

"Ima," she began, in a plaintive voice, "the bus did not stop for us and the next bus is in three hours."

I had already entered the traffic circle at the bottom of the hill.  I quickly glanced to my right.  There stood my daughter, with her chanichot sitting beside her.

My art class began in ten minutes;  I had just enough time to drive there.  But my daughter had put in so much time and energy to create a fun program for her chanichot; she had no other way to get to the pool.

What could I do?

I drove around the circle and swung by to pick up my daughter and the girls.  "Your chariot," I called to her, with a smile.

My daughter showered me with thanks.

"You owe me, big time!" I informed her, explaining, in detail, what I gave up to save her.

"I will try to be extra good for a month!" she pronounced.

"A month does not cover it," I countered.

"Forever?" she questioned sweetly.

"That's more like it," I responded, "From now on, whenever you step out of line, I am just going to say one word..." 

After a dramatic pause, I glanced quickly into her eyes, smiled and said... "Tekoa."

My daughter laughed good naturedly as she realized we just added a new code word to our private lexicon.

I joined in her laughter.

Someone once told me that having a private family language is the litmus test for family cohesion. I am not convinced.   Still, I love that our family has our own meanings for various words and phrases! (not to mention new words that our kids created!)

I plan to utilize this word to its full capacity!  (and she knows it!)



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

More on Teenagers and Shoes

(For greater appreciation, read my post about Shoe Shopping with My Teenage Daughter)

This time, I really did promise Y that I would take her to get shoes.

She saw flip-flops for 10 NIS in the mall. I told her we could go get them this week and then I would take her out for lunch.

We were both looking forward to it.

As each day passed, and I was unable to bear the thought of shopping with my ear ache, Y's disappointment grew.

Next week, Y is going away for 4 days to a seminar for "madatzim" (madrichim tz'irim -- young leaders). All year, she had been taking this hadracha (informal education) course for 8th graders who are interested in being madrichim (leaders). At the end of the year, they receive a certificate and have the option of continuing the course at the next level.

I realized that if I did not take her for shoes on Friday (both to get flip-flops and a decent pair of sandals) that she would go off next week in her old, falling apart sandals. (the "new" ones are completely useless)

Thursday night, we discussed going for shoes on Friday, and it was clear that Y wanted to go, but did not want to count on it.

Unfortunately, there have been several occasions when I told her we would do something (usually involving shopping for something she needs) and then "something came up" and I had to cancel.

My daughter does not ask for much, and she is a tremendous help to me. It makes me sad to constantly dissapoint her.

Friday morning, we both woke up early (for us), but I did not feel up to it. After a nice breakfast together, I had to got lie down. I told Y to wake me up by 1:30, and, hopefully, we could go then.

Thank God, when she woke me up (the third time), I felt like I could manage to take her.

We left quickly, and went to the mall. The flip-flops she liked were no longer there. We quickly perused the other shoe stores, but did not find anything. (Y sort of liked one pair (for 100 NIS), but they did not have her size)

We left the mall. Y was bummed.

I had two ideas for places that we could probably find flip-flops, so the excursion would not be a total wash-up. Y chose to try Bazaar Strauss (a discount store that is really "hit or miss").

It was a HIT!

Right away we found flip-flops for 7.90-14.99 NIS. Y, of course, only like the more expensive ones, but she was willing to pay the difference. So we got her a pair, and a cheaper pair for A and me. (In the end, Y's pair also cost only 7.90, so we were all happy)

Then, we went inside and saw many pairs of nice sandals, on sale, for only 20 NIS! I have NEVER seen sandals that cheap in Israel! Similar sandals sell for 150-300 NIS in some of the boutiques!

I bought her 4 pair!

She now has 2 nice pairs for simchas/shabbat, 1 nice pair for shabbat/school, and a pair for school.

All for less than 100 NIS!

Not bad.

Hopefully, we won't have to go shoe shopping again for a LONG time.

And, since Y, A and I are almost the same shoe sizes, we can share!



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA