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Dining with the enemy
There are those times when we have to go out to a meal, usually at a restaurant, or sometimes in the context of a party, when we know that we will have to spend substantial time with people that we would never choose to have as our personal friends. Examples: evenings out with the spouse’s…
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Gender non-conformity
The first FL2W book this month has been fascinating after I read Joy Ladin’s book Through the Door of Life earlier in the summer. That book traced the adult, individual perspective of experiencing gender dysphoria, and the author’s journey from suffering in a male body, to coming alive in a woman’s body and living openly as a…
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Cheese…mmmmm!
“Cheese is milk that gets around.” The Whole Fromage, pg 49. I do love cheese, but not as much, I think, as a young woman of my acquaintance who is the daughter of a friend of mine. The first time I really got to know her was at a showing of a film she had…
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Mr Anxiety
I’m sitting in a small room, watching my anxious 5-yr-old mixing up the batter for Chechebsa, a traditional Ethiopian pancake eaten for breakfast. Yesterday, Dad took it screaming child to participate in his age group’s (the Rabbits) activities, and he got stuck all morning, firmly glued by the hand to our son. This morning, it’s…
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This Is Paradise – Island Culture
Geography influences people. No question. If you live in a place with harsh winters, you know the value of a good pair of boots, and bundling up in layers. But if you grow up in a temperate clime, you may never experience the pressure of external forces on your everyday choices, and may develop a…
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Soothing a rumbly tummy
I’ve been struggling for the past three days with a nasty stomach bug, I’ll spare you the gorey details! Yesterday was the worst, and I’m definitely on the mend. I had to work a full day today, and got home and collapsed into bed, waking up at midnight, feeling hungry. I asked the dear Dad,…
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Car conversations
We were on our way to the bus pickup point this morning for the boys summer camp. The drive takes about 20 minutes. J: “Is turkey bacon kosher?” Me: “Yes, if the turkey was killed in a kosher manner.” J: “I want to get a peacock and kill it and eat it. Is peacock kosher?”…
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Death Row
My first year as a physician, I served as an intern in the hospital where I now work and teach, as an attending physician. One of my least favorite rotations during that intern year was the four weeks i spent in the Emergency Department, the ED. Despite the fact that my training closely tracked the…
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A meaningful fast
This past week was intense for me, in more ways that I can quite put together. Even though this post is likely to be too long, I don’t think I’ll be able to fully express why, but I’ll give it a go… We had a very busy weekend last weekend, which resulted in the unusual…
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Some mornings are easy…
This morning started with cries, and arguments, and one boy stomping off in a huff, and the other boy trailing after, wanting to keep bothering boy #1. Sigh. And then, getting on the bus for camp, Boy #1 states emphatically “Since he was so naughty, I won’t sit next to him!!” To which the Naughty…
