Category: Parenting

Eye Rolls, Curses and Puns (Oh My!)

She let out a sigh so deep I could practically see her shoulders slump, despite the wall separating our desks.

It was hardly the first time she had made such a sound. Working in an office such as ours – not to mention social work, in general – tends to have that effect on its employees. We take on the mental and emotional burdens of our patients, helping them to sort through the various circumstance they face each day. Even in the best of moments, when we are able to collaborate with our patients and other providers to carry those loads, the additional weight still empties our stores relatively quickly.

There was a slightly different tone to this sigh, though. She hadn’t gotten a call about a child being hospitalized or a parent unhappy with her family’s treatment. The phone lay still on her desk and the notifications of new emails remained silent. Her resigned exhale had nothing to do with work, in fact.

She had just heard me tell one of my jokes. Continue reading “Eye Rolls, Curses and Puns (Oh My!)”

Lighting Fires and Letting Go

I stood near the back wall and leaned against the bulletin board as I spoke. I felt awkward standing still – I usually pace back and forth or sit on one of the tables with my feet on a chair as I facilitate discussions – but the moment seemed to warrant stillness.

My sixth grade religious school students and I were talking about sins and sacrifices, the mistakes that define us as humans and the efforts we make to beg forgiveness. It wasn’t a fire and brimstone speech; that’s never been my style, nor is it the usual interpretation of God’s personality at our synagogue. But we did address the ideas of commitment to each other and to a higher authority and the different ways people work to demonstrate their growth and remorse.

The students’ facial expressions ranged from rapt attention to mild disinterest as the lesson went on.

But everyone sat up a bit straighter when I pulled out the box of matches. Continue reading “Lighting Fires and Letting Go”

Making Better Choices

Look, kids, we need to talk.

There’s something that’s been bothering me for close to a week now and I need to get it off my chest.

I realize that, to a certain extent, this isn’t your fault. You’re just kids and you don’t really know better (apparently). You’re attracted to shiny wrapping and flashy covers because your brains haven’t developed enough yet to understand the difference between an enticing outer layer and the real quality that’s supposed to lie underneath. And, if I’m being honest, the responsibility for teaching you how to make that distinction falls on my shoulders more than anyone else’s.

I can see by the looks in your faces that you’re starting to get uncomfortable – frankly, so am I – so I’ll just come out with it.

The two of you picked horrible Halloween candy.

Continue reading “Making Better Choices”

A Fifth of the Way to Gold

Someone gave me a card on my tenth birthday that read, “Congratulations on hitting double digits!”

I remember being caught off guard by the phrase.

I knew, of course, which birthday it was. I was still looking forward to getting older at that point, to gaining more responsibility, to hitting a “real age.” I was ready for the progression from the odd to the even, the complicated to the comprehensive, the quirky, idiosyncratic nine to the well-rounded, straightforward ten.

And yet, there was something about the idea of adding a digit that struck me. I was leveling up, reaching a milestone, no longer able to be contained by just the ones column, Common Core be damned. My bar mitzvah was still three years away but I was moving steadily toward adulthood and the respect and admiration that I knew would come with it. Continue reading “A Fifth of the Way to Gold”

The Final Judgment

The mattress was firm, as many were in those days. It was not the most comfortable bed he had ever felt, but it was certainly better than the wooden planks of his study table; he had woken up with splinters in his forehead after late nights of struggling through difficult texts more times than he would have liked to remember.

The rabbi awoke but did not open his eyes immediately. He could feel the sheets hugging his skin and the soft feather pillow cradling his head. He could hear the not-quite-soft-enough whispers of his students who had come to be with him during his final hours and, though he appreciated their devotion and their efforts to care for him, he was not ready yet to force himself to face their despondent and pitying facial expressions. Continue reading “The Final Judgment”

Through the Looking Glass: a Visit to the Corning Museum of Glass

My family and I were hosted by the Corning Museum of Glass for a visit in August. We received complimentary admission and passes to create our own glass sculptures. As always, the views expressed here are my own.

I’ve worn glasses since I was five years old.

My first few pairs were thick, dark brown frames that somehow managed to disguise the Coke-bottle thickness of the lenses they held inside. They were the polar opposite of fashionable, though I cared very little about such things back then. The important thing was that I could see the chalkboard, my friends and, one time, the brick wall on the playground just a fraction of a second before I slammed into it at top speed. Continue reading “Through the Looking Glass: a Visit to the Corning Museum of Glass”

Making New Memories With Toyota

This post was written by my wife, T Turk.

When I was a child, my parents and I would take a road trip every summer after I finished camp.

The three of us would pile into our Toyota Camry, my parents in the front and me spread out in the backseat. We drove to Boston, Lancaster, Williamsburg, Quebec and Toronto, just to name a few of our destinations. There were no iPads back then and I couldn’t read in the car because after five minutes I would feel like I needed to vomit. I slept, my mom read and my dad drove. After a few hours I would wake up, bored, full of replenished energy and eager for entertainment. Continue reading “Making New Memories With Toyota”

A Vehicle For More Than Just People

The quiet parts of the trip are always the hardest.

When the white lane dividers disappear beneath my hood as the tires rumble with varying degrees of severity over the asphalt and the bucolic mixes of patriotic farmland and unincorporated forest rush past in green blurs.

When the black and white dairy cows mix together with the brown workhorses and occasional goats or sheep, each making their respective moos or neighs or bleats that all get swallowed up by the wind.

When the only sound in my ears is the popping from the changing altitudes or the drone of the occasional tractor-trailer as I pass.

When the ride is so smooth, despite driving a Toyota Sienna minivan that’s significantly bigger than the RAV4 to which I am accustomed, that I almost forget that there are five other people with me. Continue reading “A Vehicle For More Than Just People”

Building More Than Objects at Home Depot

I have a love-hate relationship with Home Depot.

I love the store. I love its vastness, the sheer volume of its products and the shelves that reach higher than some local apartment buildings. I love the smell of sawdust and sweat, the aisles filled with metal, lumber and potential. I love the impulse to let loose grunts of “More power!” that would make Tim Allen jealous. I love feeling my testosterone levels climbing from the first steps I take at the entrance.

But I hate the store. I hate the way my sense of awe shifts quickly to being overwhelmed if I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for. I hate going into an environment where I know I don’t measure up. I hate feeling like I’m wasting the employees’ time by asking for recommendations of power tools or light fixtures or how to install a toilet seat. I hate feeling like the other store patrons can tell that I’ve put so many extra holes in our apartment walls when trying to hang a simple picture frame.1

Facebook would say our relationship is “complicated.” Continue reading “Building More Than Objects at Home Depot”

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