Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Today



Today I am happy...and sad...and because of this mixture of feelings that makes me one moment cry and the other grin like crazy, I am here, to share this state of mind of mine with you...
Why, you'll probably ask...
Well, because today it is my son's birthday! His is 26! Twenty -six, can you imagine that? My sweet, quiet and thoughtful boy is TWENTY SIX years old today!
Unbelievable...and still...
I remember like it was yesterday, the day I gave birth to him...It was a cold January, with a clear blue icy sky and a sun that gave you frostbite. When I took him home from the maternity he was bunddled in so many blankets, like a cocoon that whould become the most gorgeous buterfly, and my boots crunched on the frozen snow and I was so happy I could fly!
We went through a lot, me and my son. Since he was three and until he was 13 I raised him alone, me, a poor student that had to work to put food on the table, and he, the quiet and shy boy. We were a team and we succeded to live lots of happy years, even if it very hard sometimes.
And here we are now, mother and son, and he, a young man ready to fly, ready to live...and myself, torn between pride and sorrow, heaven and hell...
Happy birthday, my dear son!
May life by gentle with you and may you find happines and joy in all its moments...



Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Simply Writing



Yes, yes, I know, I've been AWOL for too long  - more than two weeks...But I have a good explanation, I really do: I have been using all my free time WRITING. As you may know, I am working very hard at a fiction book I began writing a few years ago. It is actually my second book, the first book I wrote was published some fourteen years ago in Romania (I wrote it in Romanian, of course). It is a non-fiction book about Israel. As a journalist I had been many times in Israel and I grew to love this tiny, fierce country, so at some point I gathered all my notes and added some historical facts, geography and such and "Between the Wailing Wall and the Central Bus Station" was born. Then, I fell in love, got married and emigrated to Israel. Worked as a teacher and had my daughter, Maya...Caught in the sticky ropes of everyday living and struggling I forgot about writing...and then, suddenly, this idea popped in my head. And I began writing. It is not an easy process, believe me. I am writing in English and it is harder and more difficult than it would've been if I were writing it in Romanian. But I am getting there and I am not giving up.
So, there...my excuse...
Also, we had our share of seasonal sickness, my and Maya and we also had some crazy, floody, rainy days...
And now I am off...writing, of course...
 

Sunday, January 1, 2012

What to Expect from a Five Year Old Child...




Needless to say that as a mother I always try to do my best when it comes to my children. Well, my son Darie is old enough to look after himself (although I am still doing his laundry) but I am talking here more about education, about giving them some values to live by. Maybe I am out-of-fashion with my ideas, but I do think that you have, for example, to teach your child to be polite and to greet the neighbours and so say "Good morning" when they enter the kindy and to say "Thank you" when they receive something.
Maye I am overreacting, maybe I exagerate, but please, hear me out first and give me an advice, please!
My question is, what to really expect from a, let say, 5 (almost 6) years old kid? And I am talking here about Maya's collegues and friends from the kindy. Maybe I am the one that asks too much from them, maybe I am the one that is raising a freak...polite and well behaved, but still a freak.
For example, Maya has a "friend" at the kindy, same age, they know each other since they were aproximately 3...When we went to Eilat, Maya wanted to buy her and another girl a present. We agreed about something small (and not so expensive) so we bought both of them sea-shell decorated boxes. Maya was so thrilled and so she gave them the pressies as soon as she returned to the kindy...Now, her so called friend gave the box to another girl, just like that...Nedless to say, Maya was very upset and kept telling me that and also asking me why did her friend what she did. I, for the love of God, didn't know what to say...I mean, they are 5 yo kiddos, but still...I don't exactly know what I babbled to Maya because I didn't want her to be hurting and I knew I couldn't discuss with her like I would with a grown up...Maybe I should've confront Maya's friend, but I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Still, I am asking myself now, what on Earth made that girl pass on the present she received from Maya...
There is also another girl, they are going to the same kindy only from the beginning of this school-year but know each other since they were babies, as we are neighbours. They played together in the park a lot when they were small...now, somehow, they wanted to continue with the friendship...but now the girk doesn't want to play or even talk (!!!) to Maya! Why? Well, last week we got some tickets for a movie from my husband's workplace, as a Hanukkah gift. I didn't ask Maya not to tell at the kindy, so she told her "friend" about it...And now the girl is not talking to Maya because, as she says, Maya didn't invite her to the movie as well... and Maya tells me that she is always at her  and making faces and refuses to talk or play with my daughter....Maya tried to explain that the tickets were a present and that the show was only for the people working with her dad. And truly, it was a kind of "closed door event" as we received popcorn, soft drinks, coffee and tea and doughnuts... Again, Maya is simply perplexed and sad, as she thought she had a friend in the respective girl...
So, what to do?
How to react?
What to expect from a five year old?
Is this kind of behaviour accepted for this age?
Am I ovverreacting?
Too many questions...and I really don't have the answers for them.
Nedless to say, my daughter is upset and it breaks my heart to see her hurting...

Please help me out and tell me what you think...
I am afraid that I am a bit rusty when it comes to  kids' social interaction and I fear I won't be able to help Maya when she will be older...
I want her to have friends, girl friends like I had when I was her age and to enjoy their friendship...
Oh, when it became life this complicated for a five years old?