Sigh

The garage smells like camp, and there are eight bulging bags of laundry and one duffel bag full of blankets and pillows awaiting a trip to the laundromat. Supper was an actual meal, with table settings and everything. There are sneakers and papers everywhere, there is talking and singing and arguing. The quiet is gone. The house that shuts down at 8 pm, a mere memory. But last night I couldn't stop smiling as I passed all the rooms with all those sleeping kids.

Under one roof.

"Second Half"

The official second half of summer begins today when the girls return from their four week stint in overnight camp. Feeding three little kids a steady (unhealthy) diet of ice cream, "Tradition" (ramen noodle)soups, hot dogs and scrambled eggs will come to a close. It's back to proper suppers for a crowd, breakfast for a clan, and lunch for the two who'll be hanging with me.

The kayaking will be easier with babysitters back in the house, and I may even try for twice a week. Last week my kayaking partner had to cancel, but I went myself. I missed her, but the solitude was great, and the level of the workout was better, as I did less floating for shmoozing purposes, and more actual paddling.

Yesterday we took the little kids to Easton, PA to the Crayola Factory. We hadn't been there in ten years, and having only the younger set with us it was the perfect outing for the perfect ages, and they had a fantastic time. Sunday in the summer at the tail end of a heat wave is not necessarily the best time to go to a kid friendly INDOOR activity from a crowd perspective, but it really didn't feel crowded and there were lots of projects available. I thought we'd stay for two hours, (based on what the website said), but between Crayola and the canal museum (connected, read: one price for both), we left after four hours. I'd love to say the trip home was uneventful, but someone (me) changed the baby a little too quickly when we were leaving, and he had a very messy "accident" on the way home. That meant a shoulder stop to clean everything up, and a garbage stop. Of course there were no rest stops, so it meant getting off the exit and driving about five miles in until we could find a trash receptacle. Seriously, it was all residential and we could not find a garbage can. Richard III came to mind.

There's a lot more summer left, we hope to use it well.

Summer Harvest

A summer day that is spent almost entirely outside, is pretty close to perfect just in that regard. When you boil it down to the activities, it can just make you sigh with delight. There's a certain joy in just having a day where you don't do much more than appreciate the beautiful world Hashm created. And eat confections made from that world.

As we did last summer, and per request of the little girls at home, blueberry picking was the agenda for the day. What a difference a year makes! No longer a newborn, boy was very happy to scarf as many blueberries as we'd give him. Four year old was more than able to determine the "very fat- very blue" berries peeking out from under leaves, and clustered, seemingly oddly, with completely green, unripe berries. The current eldest, was so proud to navigate the rows on her own, filling her heart shaped basket with only the choicest fruits. When they had enough, we walked back to the car, still in good moods despite the heat, and made our way to a placid park near the farm, where lunch was eaten under a shady tree next to a pond with two elegantly spouting fountains.

There were other picnickers, each staking out their own shady patch of green. We assumed them to be locals (unlike us), and the very few of this town who were not riding their bikes or running/jogging on the main road, the one with no shoulder. And twists and turns. Lots of twists and turns. It was actually a fairly scary experience, never knowing when a cyclist would be around the next bend with another car approaching from the opposite direction.

We made our way home, and appreciated the generosity of my sister, as the girls were able to show their father how good they've gotten in the pool. Remarkably, the four year old has learned to swim without "floaties," even though her only swimming without them takes place in camp, which has only been a few weeks!

There was enough time to come home, dry off, whip up blueberry muffins and a quick blueberry plum cobbler until it was time to run off to a family bar-b-cue. Good food, good fun, good people.

Good day.

The Devil in the Details

Why is there such a great fascination with every minute- second really- of this horrible, tragic, heart wrenching case?

Probably because the more information we gather, the more we know, the more easily we hope or think or pray we will be able to prevent this in our own lives.

We hope this family can one day find peace.

Yeah, I Guess So...

The girls' camp will print emails sent to campers, which are then distributed with the regular mail. This allows for quick short notes, or long missives, but the kids will get them later that day, provided that it is sent in by a certain time (they only print the emails once a day- otherwise, they get it the next day). Sometime it ends up being a lot of pressure, especially when not much is going on.

One of the girls (she likes to call herself PG-13- PIANO GIRL 13- her hobby and age mixed together)has been writing fairly regularly (in ten days we've received three letters and three postcards). She seems to understand why the emails are somewhat sporadic.

Here's what she wrote:

Based on your e-mails (thank you!)sounds like you are keeping up a steady summer routine (of monotony and fun)

Indeed

The View from the Mountains

For the first time in a few years we had a new kid in camp. Though, she's been going up to this camp since she's three years old, it hardly seemed like it would be hard for her. That and three sisters and three cousins n camp with her, made for a smooth transition into one of the overnight campers. (It helps that her oldest sister is a JC in the bunkhouse right next door).

Because one of the girls is now staff our day changed a bit. We waited around on campus until she could leave. The only problem was, we've been there so many times that there is very little left to "see." We managed to just sit around and shmooze, with nieces and and aunts and uncles, and as a great surprise to my family...grandmother!!! MY kids were quite excited that she had come up, and were happy that she got to see the camp (thrilled with the cookies as well).

This year we did some more research and found a place not far from camp called Irving Cliff. IT was named after Washington Irving:

In 1841 a group of prominent New York City businessmen, its mayor Philip Hone, and author Washington Irving traveled by canal boat from Rondout, New York, to Honesdale. The large rock cliff 300 feet above the town so impressed Washington Irving that he deemed it necessary to climb to its summit. Later Philip Hone named the Cliff after his friend.

In 1883 John Alden Wood began constructing a summer hotel on the summit of Irving Cliff. The four-story high, castellated-style building included elevator service. All 125 bedrooms had private bathrooms. Construction was completed in 1885. The Irving Cliff Hotel was scheduled to open on June 22. 1889, but burned to the ground the evening of May 28, 1889. The cause of the fire was never determined.

After enjoying the views, we came back down, traversed a small footbridge over the Lackawanna River, fed some ducks, and made our way over to a small shul that was established in 1849. Unfortunately what was started as an Orthodox (yekkish!) shul is now a reform congregation, but I peeked inside a window, and it seemed like there was an upstairs balcony:

The Hebrew congregation was first formed in 1849 by ten German immigrant families, with services being held in the home of Mr. Waller, which was located on Upper Main Street. In 1856, the Delaware & Hudson Co., through the intercession of Russell F. Lord, donated the present riverbank site as a building lot. In addition, Mr. Lord donated money for the construction of a place of worship. The Temple was dedicated on September 10, 1856 and has the unique distinction of being the smallest synagogue in the United States. During the flood of 1942, when most of the riverbank structures were swept away, the little Temple stood, "It fell not for it was founded on a Rock."

(it's not a great picture, in that the shul was built in the "church" style and has a small steeple on top, which apparently I missed in this shot, most likely due to the slamming of the car door, as one of the girls threatened to walk back to camp-(15 miles?)and I needed to stop taking pictures a referee ten days of pent up non-fighting!)

Then a quick supermarket run to replenish some stock, back to camp, another loooooong goodbye, and off we went, with minimal traffic.

It was a really nice day.

GUEST BLOGGER

Though we don't often have guest bloggers, we felt this was a particularly interesting post by the ubiquitous commenter: DOOBIE....enjoy!

My son came home from shul the other day a bit upset. He had carefully moved a pair of glasses that were on the table in front of him out of the way so he could put his tallis and tefillin down. He wasn't careful to put them down on the arms and put the glasses down lens first. After davening the owner of the glasses came over to my son and told him that he had scratched his lenses and that it would cost him $200.00 to fix.

My son was surprised by that number and asked if he really thought it would be that much to replace. The man told him that maybe he will find out first how much it would cost to replace and let us know.

When my son got home he counted out some of the money he keeps in a safe at home and then told me about it. Of course I was outraged. I couldn't imagine it could cost that much just to replace a lens but I was even more surprised that so much damage could have occured by placing the glasses upside down. I of course jumped to the conclusion that the man was taking advantage of my son and trying to get a new pair of glasses out of a boy's mistake. (Though, my son probably should not have touched the man's stuff in the first place) When I spoke with my husband about it later, we decided to ask our Rav if our son was liable for the damage halachikly, and it turns out he was.

But to minimize the costs we decided we would call the man and ask him if we could take care of the replacement lenses ourselves. (Having an uncle in the eyecare business, I was hoping we could get it fixed for cheaper).

My husband called the man, and then told me that as soon as the man heard who was calling, he laughed. The whole thing was a JOKE meant to unnerve my son, worry him, or scare him, all of which it did. The man even mentioned that another boy watching this whole exchange thought it was funny too.

My son did not! Not when he couldn't imagine he did that much damage by something seemingly so innocuous, not when he asked if it would really cost that much, not when he had to call a Rav and say he might have damaged someone else's things, and not when he had an argument with his father about not doing things that might have big consequences even when seemingly small.

I so don't understand this type of joke. I have never understood or liked practical jokes. So much so, that I am likely to unfavorably judge anyone who does think these types of jokes are funny. To me, it seems that if the only way something is funny is if another person is embarrassed or scared or made fun of, it can't be that funny in the first place. Any joke that must be at someone else's expense is inherently not funny. It only makes the person playing the joke feel better. And for how long? They got a laugh at someone else's expense, and if lucky got others to laugh too- thereby making the butt of the joke more embarrassed and themselves the life of the party on another's cheshbon. This man likely left shul without giving it another thought. My son (and I) were bothered most of the day. At first because he was upset he had damaged the glasses (when that seemed so unlikely based on the action) then because that is a lot of money to pay for small mistake. Then a bit of embarrassment to call the Rav and admit the mistake. And most especially later when he found he was just the butt of a silly joke. I was bothered for most of the same reasons and in addition having had an argument with my husband about not being Dan L'chaf Zechus about the man asking for that kind of money for something that seemed so unlikely to me. So here we have a situation where one man (and possibly some onlookers) had a moment (or two) of thinking something is funny and as a result caused all sorts of anguish, embarrassment, argument and bad feelings.

Do you think it was worth the "joke?"

Be Safe

I wish I understood how people are so easily able to do things that are just so glaringly, stupid and risky. I know that teenagers (and older people) never think any thing will really happen to them, and that safeguards are silly, and "you gotta live a little." Unfortunately, that is possibly exactly how long they may live IF THEY KEEP RIDING THEIR BIKE WITH NO HELMET ON AND EARBUDS IN THEIR EARS- IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC!!!!

OK, I feel better now.

Meandering in the Midwest

Lucky for me MBB's cousin was making a bar mitzvah for his eldest son in Cleveland on July 4th weekend. Why was that lucky for me? Because Cleveland is only 190 miles from the suburb of Detroit where my sister lives, and being that my son is bar mitzvah age in months only, the only way to attend the event without the boy, would be to leave him with my sister. Conversely, the only way to get a certain someone to agree to go to my sister (really to take off of work) was to go to the bar mitzvah!

So we bought 4 tickets to Detroit, and off we went, holding a screaming infant for the, thankfully, very short flight. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I don't recall ever really traveling on a Holiday weekend and I was prepared for the worst. We got to the parking facility on Thursday with plenty of time to spare. The shuttle came to pick us up, and promptly drove around the entire airport TO THE WRONG AIRLINE. "OH, I thought you said US AIR. Sorry." Back around the ring that is LAguardia we went, deposited in front of the Delta doors not much worse for wear.

The lines outside were about six deep, and then we found a curbside counter that had one person being helped and we waited a few minutes until we noticed the "Priority/First Class," sign. We are first class people, certainly, but not on air travel, thus our next destination was inside the terminal.

The doors we chose to enter were right at the security line, which looked to be about 100 people deep. We gulped as we walked, and walked and walked passed a sea of humanity to the end of the check in line at the indoor counter, which was at least 50 people deep, and probably more. As Mbb stood on line with the three kids, I hopped outside, and saw that the counters with six people were now down to two, inquired whether this was check in for all types, and we made our way out there.

MBB mentioned that he overheard two security people discussing opening a new area, and when we came back inside, a new security line was indeed open. Essentially what would have taken us OVER AN HOUR for check in and security, took under ten minutes.

Approaching our gate it was hard not to notice how nice it looked, very modern and set up with small tables, and booth like seating. A computer was mounted just above the table on a low wall witha menu to order munchies and have them brought to you at the gate. We sat the girls down, and gave them their home-made sandwiches (lunch), and glancing over at another table saw that these were not just menus, but IPADS with games and browsers. I had two rousing games of tic-tac-toe with seven year old, checked out google earth together, and surfed the web to figure out how to do something with the baby carrier I was struggling with.

The girls were great on the flight, the boy, as noted above, not so much, but we got there safe and sound, the cousins all thrilled to see each other and get playing!

Friday MBB and I borrowed BIL's car and made our way to Cleveland for the festivities. It's amazing how fast a trip goes when you are driving somewhere and you don't know the landscape. When we drive to Baltimore every landmark is familiar if not well known, and indicates how much time is left until arrival. Driving here, aside from all the scenery being new, Keeping track of the mileage was the only way to know how long the trip should/would take, and the time flew. The weather was perfect, the drive uncomplicated, and the traffic non-existent. It helps that the speed limit is 65 or 70 thus allowing for some fast speeds without the worry of getting a ticket.

The bar mitzvah was lovely, the drive home a little tough, the first hour marked by a downpour and sudden flashes of super bright lightning.

Sunday, we took all the kids to the zoo. A boiling hot day, yet the zoo was prepared. Misting stations and free ice and water were available throughout. I am not really a fan of zoos in which you walk more than you see wildlife, even though that's best probably best for the animals, as it generally indicates a large enclosure. You know what's really best for the animals? NOT BEING IN THE ZOO! This zoo no longer has elephants, as one nephew put it "they gave it back to Africa," so we're not even sure it's a REAL zoo. (Actually, it's a really great zoo, the animals are very active, more so then other zoos we've been to...)

The day was not over when we got back ( It really never ends there, it's light...forever), and the kids ran to change into bathing suits as the "grown ups" set up the "SLIP n' SLIDE," a toy not unlike the game Red Rover, you haven't really played until someone is crying. I'd like to know who came up with the design for this particular back yard activity. Lay a very thin plastic sheet out on the grass,have a constant spray of water on it, run and slide on your stomach down the sheet. OF COURSE PEOPLE GET HURT! They're either purposely belly flopping ONTO A SEMI-HARD SURFACE, or they run and slip! It's not something that needs to be worried about for long, they rip after a few uses anyway...

The kids had a great BBQ, then went inside, and the four adults had a lovely al fresco dinner, a beautiful breeze blowing as we dined.

Monday, we were leaving, but managed to squeeze in the park, and a quick dip in a friend's 4 foot deep (salt water!) backyard pool before heading to the airport. Our gate was far enough away that we needed to ride the tram (we would have either way, but now it had purpose!) The flight home was uneventful, the boy behaved better, but not great, and the car was waiting for us when we got off the bus at the parking facility. Driving home we saw many illegal fireworks, various legal municipal ones, and glimpsed the big Macy's display two or three times, it was lovely. Earlier, when we flew into Laguardia, the pilot flew past Queens, then around Manhattan, so we could see a flotilla of boats in the water waiting to see the show, with a police boat stopping all marine traffic at a certain point, and beyond that the six barges anchored on the river. The kids felt like they saw a lot on the way home, and suggested that next year we just drive that route again to see all the different displays. They really were coming from all angles.

Now we're home, missing the big girls (just a little), and ready for the next adventure...