I have to say, there are some cool things about living in Seattle. It doesn’t ever reach 120 degrees, the greenery is amazing and nobody cares what you wear, how fancy your car is or what label is on your newest handbag. That said, bar mitzvah planning is a totally different animal here. We’ve never…
I’m sitting at my computer, writing. It’s 3:30 in the afternoon and there is a sudden and torrential downpour that seems to appear out of nowhere. I’ve just poured a cup of tea and for a moment I’m enjoying the beauty of the rain and the wet wind that brought it in as I sip…
When my son was 5 years old my husband and I temporarily lost our minds and spent a ridiculous sum of money on a mini version of a Hummer for him to drive around the neighborhood. This car was totally amazing. Now that I think about it, perhaps it was part of our financially strapped,…
PHOTO: Image courtesy of http://vaping360.com/juul/ “Dear Parent/Guardian, We want to inform you about the recent epidemic of e-cigarettes being used by our young people. E-cigarettes – also referred to as electronic cigarettes, hookah pens or vapes – are an electronic nicotine delivery system designed to mimic smoking a cigarette. They produce an odorless vapor of…
Ever since the 2010 Sports Illustrated cover story on concussions in the NFL, the subsequent suicides of Junior Seau, famed Pro Bowl linebacker for the San Diego Chargers, and other high profile players, the world has taken a serious look at the dangers of concussions, CTE and other sport-related brain injuries. Junior Seau’s autopsy revealed…
“Why aren’t you at the bus stop?” I sleepily barked at my 15-year-old son, Levi, as I pulled on a sweatshirt and emerged from another night of tossing and turning. “It’s 6:20. I can’t drive you to school. I have a breakfast meeting.” “Mom,” he calmly reassured me, “Relax. My regular bus driver is out…
“You’re ruining my life,” bemoans my 15-year-old son, Levi, as he storms out of the kitchen in a fury. To be honest, this kind of teenage drama is relatively rare in our household. Levi’s grown into a fairly easygoing young man who handles most of life’s daily stressors with a cool, even-keeled sense of rationality…
“How could I leave Ronni and our kids with so much more in life to experience?” “How could I not be there to give Ronni and our kids advice, just as my father does for us today?” “Who would walk my daughter down the aisle?” These are just a few of the worries that invaded…
A few years ago when money was tight and we were scaling back on holiday gift giving, my insane husband, Mark, happened upon a giant inflatable polar bear playing “whack-a-mole” with two little penguins. Like any adoring husband, he thought, “I just have to spend the money and buy this inane decoration for my Jewish…
Ah, shopping for school supplies. Is there anything … worse? First of all, why do they need so darn much stuff ? I mean, honestly, are they really gonna use one pencil a week for the next 36 weeks? Plus, this school supply stuff really adds up fast. It was probably wrong to tell my…
