Lick the Bowl

Below is a personal essay I wrote recently, but was never published.  I chose to put it into today's blog because of an upcoming appointment where I always feel the way I described below.  Let me know if you have ever felt the same...   Strangers are truly the common denominator of our daily existence, and while we train our children to avoid them, as adults, our interactions amongst them are inevitable, if not routine.   However, there are those moments when we are profoundly affected by those strangers whom we may never even speak too, but, whose lives appear to parallel our own.   It began as a silent code of understanding amongst the pregnant women in the OB/GYN waiting room; we were strangers with a palpable connection.    As our stomachs grew bigger from month to month, it was like some secret sisterhood where big bellies and overactive bladders were a rite of passage.   Overall, I was in love with being pregnant, along with my muted...

Allow me to wallow in a vain, aesthetic and self-absorbed fashion.   See, after a week or so of dealing with the ravaging effects of eczema on my child’s entire body along with multiple phone calls from the camp nurse and derm appointments (where I get yet another prescription for toxic steroid cream). Not to mention the sleepless nights full of worry that the kids will make fun of my son and it will affect his social standing throughout life because he is constantly scratching from head to toe.    Sigh….I guess I just needed a day to vent on a purely, mundane, yet quintessentially mood altering, phenomenon that I like to term…Hair Menopause.   Hair menopause is exactly what it sounds like.   It’s the day you wake up and no matter what you do; you are just having the worst hair day, which catapults you into a physical and mental spiral, practically altering your every action.   This phenomenon doesn’t discriminate either.   It affects the rich and ...

A very well known and loved Rabbi, Rabbi Sidney Greenberg, (who incidentally was one of the many Rabbis who participated in my wedding), used this phrase , there’s a toothache in my heart , when refering to a friend and colleague who had fallen from grace…enough said.   The saying struck me as so poignant and descriptive because we all know how brutal toothache’s can be, and that is exactly how it feels in our hearts when we are saddened or deeply troubled about something. At exactly 12:30 today, I have an emergency dentist appointment.   I have no idea what’s wrong but I see stars everytime I eat or drink something cold, or for that matter, room temperature.   I have to warm yogurt or fruit on the right side of my mouth before I can even think about using the left side.   It’s brutal, it hurts, and boy am I annoyed.    The pain has been consistent, persistent and at times excrutiating.   Ari asked me if it was going to fall out as he wiggled his ow...

I am the first to admit that reading a book is more of a luxury these days than a reality.   It ranks at the bottom of my priority list…what a shame, because I love to read. Unfortunately, after the dinner dishes are cleared and the kitchen tidied, no sooner do the nighttime rituals begin with showers and other assorted bedtime antics.   Then, there is still work to be done like lunches, errant laundry, camp bags and if there is any energy remaining… a half-hearted workout.   By the time I get to bed, reading is secondary and I’m usually falling asleep with the book propped up on my chest, until the magical reading elf living in my house finds me in a comatose state, places a bookmark in the book, removes my glasses and turns out the light.   Sadly, my elf does a lot of business travel, so more often than not, I wake up at 3:00 a.m. with my glasses askew, my page lost, and the light glaringly bright. Since my attention span is very short (usually around 15 minute...

My husband tells me that I always talk out of both sides of my mouth, and he’s right.   I try to see both sides of the coin so to speak, probably due to my social work background.   I like to look at the whole situation by breaking it down into its comparative parts so as not to be too judgmental.   So, in the spirit of fairness and justice I have decided to add The Top Ten Things I Hate About Summer, (to provide an objective and well -rounded view from yesterdays post) because along with everything else, even summer has two sides to it.   Have a great July 4th weekend! Top Ten Things I Hate About Summer 1.        The mosquitoes seem to gather for a master chef convention with me as the main course. 2.        People who are even more bizarre than usual, seem to use Wal-Mart as their summer headquarters. 3.        Eczema-This plague just keeps on afflicting-especially i...