A Parent in Israel

The Power of Positive Hamstering

April 27, 2006

It was the seventh week of Merav’s latest illness. Sharp and constant pains still pierced her abdomen. She felt dizzy and weak, no doubt in part a result of self-imposed starvation as the very thought of food in her current condition nauseated her. Her head pounded and her joints ached. As we headed to the […]

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Gut Reaction

March 31, 2006

It’s hard to believe we’re back again. Back in the hospital, that is, a year after our twelve-year-old daughter Merav was hospitalized for severe stomach cramps, joint pain, jaundice and suspected hepatitis. Last time, she was admitted for a week, and wound up missing nearly two months of school. The doctors chose to wait it […]

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Personal Space

February 23, 2006

It’s a familiar scene in our house. Too familiar. One of the kids will be sitting on the couch reading or playing in the living room. Another kid will come up, sit down right in his or her space and either start something in a demonstratively bothersome way, or try to enter uninvited into the […]

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A Nerd and Proud of It

February 16, 2006

“You’re a ch’noon,” my twelve-year-old daughter Merav impishly pronounced me one day after I refused to let her take an “emotional health” day from school. “What’s a…what did you call me?” I replied. “A ch’noon,” Merav said, repeating the Israeli slang that, to the best of my fading Hebrew uplan memory, was not on the […]

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Red Lines

January 12, 2006

It was only a matter of time before one of our kids demanded access to what may be the most rebellious, dangerous and terrifying activities known to parents in Israel. In this case, the culprit in question was twelve-year-old Merav, and her act of teenage defiance? She wanted to ride the bus. In normal circumstances, […]

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With Pleasure

January 5, 2006

I was leaving a meeting at about 9:00 PM on a Thursday night when I heard my cell phone beep. It was a text message from my wife Jody. It read: “Did you get my other message?” And I thought: uh oh…that meant I had missed something important. I saw that there was indeed another […]

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Scooter Boy

December 21, 2005

As we were coming to pick up our six-year-old Aviv from his third week in first grade last year, his new teacher pulled my wife Jody and me aside. “He seems a little spacey in class,” Yael said. “Like he’s not really paying attention. I’m not sure he’s really ‘getting’ things. I’m a bit concerned.” […]

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The Meaning of Bat Mitzvah

October 31, 2005

Our twelve-year-old daughter Merav became bat mitzvah this weekend. It was an amazing event for the whole family. She read the entire Torah portion of Bereshit plus the haftorah, and she gave a stellar drash to boot. Jody and I were shepping nachas big time. I wanted to share with you the talk Merav gave […]

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“I Need to Make”

October 24, 2005

We were in the middle of nowhere, hiking through a flat desert plane between two mountain ridges with nary a bush or significant cluster of rocks located anywhere in close range, when seven-year-old Aviv nonchalantly blurted out:   “I need to make.”   Four words that every parent has heard repeated countless times, in countless […]

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Party of Eight

September 22, 2005

There’s a line in the movie “Risky Business” where the character played by a teenage Tom Cruise decides to throw a party while his parents are away for the weekend. When the folks call to check in on him and hear music and merriment in the background, they confront their son over the phone who […]

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