The Kindness Movement

I Love this! This is the quote for Day 5. I am sad that I can't post it on FB anymore...I've been burned by posting meaningful quotes in the past.

It's always easier to walk into a room full of friends rather than a room full of strangers. We're all connected, so we're more than friends, we're related! When we treat each other as friends we create a warm and comfortable environment where we can all thrive.

"Kind looks, kind words, kind acts, and warm handshakes - these are secondary means of grace when [people] are in trouble and are fighting their unseen battles." -John Hall

Today, be FRIENDLY. Small gestures of kindness can make a big difference in someone's life. We each struggle at some time or another, and by showing a little kindness, encouragement, or support, we can ease the burden for someone. Sometimes a smile is all it takes to bring sunshine into another person's day. We never know what is going on behind the scenes, or behind someone's eyes. Being friendly is a nice way to show kindness.

The Kindness Movement is brought to you by Lissa Coffey and CoffeyTalk .com

Reflections on 2010

This past year flew by like a time warp! Somehow all my children are 5 and older, and one is even in double-digits. Josh and I have passed the 30's hump and we're well on our way to 40. I get nauseous thinking about it. We've got physical injuries to show for it. Well, at least I do. I've currently got a stress fracture in my left foot (towards the front where the toes meet the foot). We're at Massanutten Resort in VA on a ski vacation, and I'm sitting on my tuchus (sp?) the whole time. Strangely enough, I am used to this situation. It seems like not too long ago when I was on crutches with a stress fracture in my foot...oh yeah, that was 2008 when I had almost broken my right heel!
So, this is a year of transition.

Interruption for a question--is the evil man in Bailey's Billions the same actor who played Rooster in the movie, Annie?

Back to transition. Julia is in her last year at Perelman. Next year we have decided that she is going to Bala Cynwyd Middle School, our local public middle school. Julia loves gymnastics so much, and spends so much time at the gym, that it would be impossible for her to remain on the team and also take on the added stresses of a double-language-curriculum at 6th grade level. Life deserves balance. I hope she realizes that this is one of the reasons that we are making this decision. 

Libi is having a much better year now than she did last year. She has different children in her class and it seems to be a valuable change.  We allowed Libi to begin taking singing lessons in October and she absolutely loves them! She already had her first recital where she sang "Yesterday" by the Beatles. click to link to: Libi's Recital. Josh and I have worked very hard to appreciate Libi's unique qualities this Fall. For example, Libi got a Boxing Ball for Hanukah, and I had already got her a dart board to hang in her room. She's so funny! She is very lovable when she knows that she's being appreciated!!

Marigold has completely grown up. Period. End of story. She's 5 going on 25. Definitely 3rd child syndrome! She doesn't own it though. Often she will speak in baby talk, or want to be carried places. What an actress. I can't write too much for fear of just going overboard. She started taking gymnastics lessons at PGC this fall. That's the same gym where Julia is on the team.  She is immediately showing a talent and predilection for the sport.

Interruption #2: I think that both Rooster and his Sticky Fingers Girlfriend are in Bailey's Billions as another evil couple!! hee hee. And Rooster has gained like 50 pounds since Annie. Now I'm not sure that it's her...she just has a similar voice. I'll have to ask Josh when he gets home. It's Meg Tilly. Oh well. But I'm right about Rooster! It's Tim Curry!

LOVE THIS!!

Thinking about Sukkot

The following is a list of qualities we think about on Sukkot; each is connected to one of the Hakafot, and to one of our forefathers (see note about our 'Emahot' as well). I found these descriptions to be inspiring--they just made me feel good.

Hesed—Abraham
For I have said: The world shall be built with kindness. Psalms 89:3

Gevurah—Isaac
Yours is the arm with strength, show us the
power of Your hand, raise high Your right hand. Psalms 89:14

Tiferet—Jacob
Grant truth to Jacob, kindness to Abraham. Michah 7:20

Netzah—Moses
There is delight at Your
right hand for triumph. Psalms 16:11

Hod—Aaron
Hashem, our Lord, how mighty is Your Name throughout the earth; for it were fit that You place Your splendor above the heavens. Psalms 8:2

Yesod—Joseph
Hashem is righteous in all His ways; virtuous in all
His deeds. Psalms 145:17

Shekhinah—David
In the merit of him who stood in the granary and
was shown favor with fire.

Female Guests

Ushpizot—A 16th-century tradition includes seven female guests as well. They are Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Hulda and Esther. Some traditions substitute Rachel, Rebecca and Leah for three of these guests.

Marigold's essay

Marigldlovezode
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I love you
I love hannauhhhhhhhhrhhhhggghhhhhhhbbbbbhhbhhhhhhhgggv


-- Post From My iPhone

Happy New Year

The new year has begun and so much has changed yet life is the same. Julia is competing in her first ESGA (USAG) meet as a Level 5 gymnast on Saturday. We are so excited and proud of her! Unfortunately, all the ESAG meets are on Saturdays, midday, so we cannot attend shul on those days. We have made the choice to attend the meets and see where Julia's gymnastics will take her. We are big (HUGE) hypocrites, yes we are. Julia has also increased her practices to 3 evenings a week from 5:45-9pm. It is a huge commitment. She still loves gymnastics though. Most of her good friends are at the gym rather than at school. When the practices and commitment don't make her happy, then we will reconsider her place on the Mannettes.






Libi has been taking guitar lessons. She really seems to like it, although she doesn't want to practice at all. She's proud of the uniqueness of her skill. Hardly anyone her age plays guitar, but she showed a little interest in it so I allowed her to take some lessons.

Marigold is still just delicious! (Although she wouldn't want me to say that.) She dresses herself and has a cute personal style. She is very social and is beginning to navigate her way through friendships--expectations and feelings at a four year old level. She feels very deeply.

Josh and I are still busy. Josh is this year's Men's Club President at our shul, while I am a co-chair of the Preschool Board, a co-chair of the Membership Committee, a member of the Board of Directors of the synagogue, and the Chair of the Berger Grant Committee (as of today). We are also participating in a Jewish learning program where we meet once weekly with a Rabbi and follow a curriculum given by Partners in Torah. I feel like I'm writing a resume. But this our life! Of course, this is all after we take care of the kids and ourselves, and our house and the cats.

I realize that many other people choose not to get so involved in these activities. This might give them more personal time. More time to get their heads together, to plan, to organize, clean, ...relax... And those are all good things. But I just can't see myself without all the extra responsibilities. Maybe one day I'll give one of them up.

Honesty

I think the reason that i hardly write in this blog is because I am scared to be too honest. The fact is that I am only honest. I cannot tell half-truths. So, if something is on my mind I must come right to the point. This is sometimes an advantage, sometimes not. But regardless of the consequences, that is me. Many times I would rather remain silent than be honest.
I would rather distract myself with any possible task other than the one that confronts the real issue. So sad, but true.
Luckily, I am not brutally honest. I do have a filter and try not to say hurtful things to people. I know that people's reactions are not really my fault--I do not control how someone receives my messages; no one can control others in this way. But I do take people's personalities and personal situations, as well as past behaviors, into account when I interact with them.
The funny thing about a blog is that you don't know exactly who is reading, or what type of lens they are filtering your words with (sorry for the grammar).

These days I tend to think in snippets, not paragraphs. Who has time for paragraphs? My life moves too fast for me to backtrack and re-tell in blog form. By the time I've retold the story something new and interesting has happened already. So if I sit down to write something it will be a question I've been pondering for a while. This often means I will get to a depth, a personal depth, that people are not comfortable experiencing. I wish that I was adept enough in my writing style to remain at a depth that is not disturbing (is disturbing the right word?). Anyway, suffice it to say that when I write I am not going for shock value. I am not crying out for attention. I am just being honest. Honesty becomes all of us. Honesty will heal the world.

Shabbat and Shivasana

In Shul in the other day I started thinking how Shivasana (the final pose in each yoga session) is so similar to Shabbat. I believe the concept of Shabbat was created first...but that's beside the point...

In many of my yoga classes the teachers explain that Shivasana is the most important pose in all of yoga. In order for your body to synthesize all of the work it has done, all the energy expended (and moved around to different places in your body), all the glands that were stimulated and all the thoughts that may have come up during the yoga session, you must allow yourself the time to lay still. All thoughts that arise now you must let fly away, as if they were in a bubble floating in the summer air. You try and let your body melt into the ground as your muscles take a much-needed break from the work you have imposed upon them. Without this rest your body cannot recover and strengthen as a result of your hard work.

This has so many parallels to the Sabbath, in my mind. And while I am not Shomer-Shabbat at this point in my life, I appreciate the potential lessons within this weekly experience. Over the years I have met people who chose to keep the Sabbath and reported that it provided a welcome break from the fast pace of life. It was not experienced as a burden, or a denial, but rather a time to collect oneself. To remember what life is about, why we work, what we are working for.

Of course, we can't be so spiritually aloft each week. However, the routine break that is built into our week was not put there for random reasons. Last week's Torah portion talks about remembering how God created the earth in 7 days, or that we were once slaves in Egypt and now we are free (to not work). However, I think that the concept of the Sabbath, a day of real rest, has a larger purpose for the human psyche. As life gets faster and more complicated (which is inevitable for us, I think) we need an imposed break. If we don't fight it, and instead we appreciate it, we may come to a real place of weekly peace. Or at least I'd like to think this is possible.

Josh's Maccabi Games Adventure

Due to the very large demand from the public to read Josh's Israel Posts, we have decided to include all of Josh's messages here on our family blog. We hope you enjoy them!

Josh's Maccabi Games Adventure--Part 1

I don't tweet or facebook (often), but I'll try my best to provide daily updates. Please forgive me if I skip a day or two or if my posts become shorter/lazier over time.

Well, I arrived safely in Tel Aviv yesterday. My flight from NYC was delayed several hours so I didnt arrive until around 5:30 PM local time. Flight was good though. Slept and then watched Tropic Thunder - funny. Didnt eat anything on flight. I sat in exit row so lots of leg room.

The airport in TA is so much bigger and more modern than my last visit (2001). The Maccabi organization was set up there and did a great job getting me settled with credentials and transportation. There was a team training in Haifa at 7:30 pm, so I convinced the Maccabi folks to take me straight to the field from the airport. Lets just say that I have had better ideas in my life.

The driver spoke no english, which was not a big issue. We went past TA, Netanya, Hadera, etc. and then the Mediterranean as we entered Haifa. I defintely felt a pump of adrenaline being back in Israel.

Unfortunately, the driver didnt know where he was going once we got to Haifa (about 75 mins away from airport). We drove in circles and side streets for a while as night quickly fell. Finally we found the field, which was in a stadium built into the side of the mountain.

I ran onto the field, now feeling the effects of the day's journey. Everyone seemed happy to see me and I was happy to see the guys. I was immediately thrust into a 7v7 half field match. The field was an immaculate grass pitch, which is a nice luxury.

One thing I have discovered as I have become older is that I cannot see anything without my glasses after 8:00 pm, especially on a soccer field. My eyes are just too tired. Nevertheless, I think I was able to get through it. I got 20 mins of training in before practice ended and we took a chartered bus back to the hotel.

At the hotel I ran up to my room and quickly changed for dinner in the hotel. We are at the Dan Hotel and it is very nice albeit about 25 years outdated. All meals are included and buffet style and there is a ton of food, so that is good. I hung out with the guys but kept dinner brief and then went back to my room to unpack, shower and go to sleep (they use those euro hand held showers - I like those).

I was able to sleep from 10:45 or so until 5:00 am... I think that is pretty good for my first night. I had an odd dream that I was at my Bar Mitzvah - but it wasnt my actual Bar Mitzvah from years ago, this one was somewhere else with different folks. I gave a speech so touching that it brought people to tears. I did a great job. Then all of a sudden my mother has this irrational outburst at my father. Go figure.

Well, I just opened up the breakfast buffet at 6:15 and ended up eating with Elliot Koolik, one of my teammates and a great guy. We have training this morning from 10 - 11:30. I let you know how it goes.

Stay tuned for more. Hopefully these posts will get interesting!

Josh's Maccabi Games Adventure--Part 2

Amanda reminded me of something I forgot to say in my last post. At one point while driving aimlessly with the lost taxi driver, I called Amanda in the US and put her on the phone with the driver to speak to him. It took awhile for them to understand each other though - not b/c of Amanda's hebrew, but b/c the driver was nearly deaf. Once they finally understood each other, he gave the phone back to me. He was asking Amanda where to go in Haifa and she obviously had no idea what to tell him.

It is HOT here. The heat is going to play a big factor in the tournament. It should be 90-100 degrees for most of the time here. Consequently, our games are scheduled for 6 pm most of the time.

As we approached the field for training yesterday, we saw that the US "Grand Master" team (45+) was finishing up their training on one half. It was cool to see our US brothers. On the other half, the Mexican Open team was taking practice free kicks. The "open" age group is the most competitive, so these were youngsters in their 20's. They looked clearly younger and stronger than me. However, when they left the field they asked if we were the Open US team, which made our day. That validated all our individual efforts to get fit leading up to the tournement (we are the 35-45 age group).

In training, we played a variety of half field scrimmages, mostly restricted to 2 touches on the ball per person. Than we had games which incorporated crossing drills. We are practicing a lot of game situations that involve quick transition and crossing b/c our first opponent is Great Britain and that is their style of play. I think I trained OK, although the heat clearly was affecting me by the end (as it was for all of us). There were a few goal scoring opportunities that I would like to have back, so that is a reminder to be more clinical in my shots.

After training, we went back to the Dan hotel, showered, changed and met for lunch. Lunch was set up in a room that is almost impossible to adequately describe. It has a massive 180 degree panoramic open view of Haifa sloping down the mountain side beneath the viewer and spilling in to the Mediterranean. It was really breathtaking, as if I was stepping into a picture. All the guys were equally impressed.

We had our own free time after lunch until dinner later on, so some guys went to the beach and others went to the pool. I went to an internet cafe down the street to get a big ice coffee and do some work on my computer. I walked about a half mile and found the place inside a mini indoor mall. I had a lot of difficulty getting my adapter to work properly, but eventually I got settled and was able to get about 3 hours of work done (and have 2 ice coffees). Near the end, an american girl wearing a UPenn Soccer shirt asked if she could borrow access to the outlet. Noticing her shirt, we naturally started talking. Turns out she is from Huntington Valley, attended and played at UPenn and is here for the US Womens Open soccer team. Her brother is also here playing for the mens Open team (he is a senior at Duke and plays soccer for them). It was cool to meet someone from where I live, so that was nice.

After I wrapped up my work, I headed back to the hotel, where we were planning to meet to leave for a special Shabbat at the home of the parents of one of our players, Gil Oren. We loaded onto a bus and drove out to Herzliya.

The Oren house was beautiful, with the dinner set up outside in their garden. We enjoyed a great meal and good conversation. This is a really interesting and nice bunch of guys and everyone gets along well. Everyone is competitive and we like to joke and kid around a lot, but there is a quick bond that has formed - similar to the other teams I have played for. That is an excellent sign, since team chemistry is vital.

After dinner we drove back to Haifa, arriving around 11:30. We all just went to bed. No training until the afternoon today.

Josh's Maccabi Games Adventure--Part 3

So, yesterday started off weird. I had fallen asleep right after we came back to the hotel the night before around 11:30 pm. I didnt set the alarm, since we had no training or team meetings planned for the morning. Well, the next sound I heard was the cleaning lady knocking on my door at 11:30 am! I have not slept 12 hours for years, and then only if was ill. This time, I slept like a dead weight and I had no sense of how long I was out. I was actually disappointed by this though; I don't want to sleep my days away here. I got up and went to lunch (breakfast), where I discovered that at least 4 others and the coach all had the same exact experience that morning! That made me feel a bit better about myself.

After lunch (breakfast), I joined a bunch of the guys going to the beach. We split taxis down there, with the idea that we would meet up. I took a ride with Elliot Koolik and Dave Rosenstein. When we got to the Dado Beach, we started walking in the wrong direction for about 10 minutes before we figured that out and headed back the other way.

Dado Beach was crawling with thousands of people. The beach itself isnt so big, although it is a few miles long. There is a boardwalk that covers the length of it and there are cafes, bars and ice cream/water stands bordering the boardwalk. It seemed as though all of Haifa was out at the beach. Folks in Israel are NOT shy and everyone wears very little at the beach - defintely not what I see at the Belmont Pool back home. String bikinis, thongs, speedos are pretty common and to their credit, most (although not all) pull it off well. And the lather themselves up with oil.

As we strolled down the boardwalk looking for our teammates, we ran into a few other guys who were already there. We finally found the guys we were looking for about 1 mile or so down the beach. They already had obtained a few chairs out on the sand under an umbrella, so we joined them and chilled out. We mostly talked about people we know in common in the soccer world. Some of the guys, like Irad Young, played pro in the MISL, MLS and abroad so they told us stories about what it was like and what they did. I thought it was very cool to learn about that and to hear about some players that I only watched on TV and discover what they were really like as people.

After an hour or so we headed back up the boardwalk and stopped in at a cafe where we were treated by Irad's dad to turkish coffee. I had an ice coffee instead though since it was extremely hot there (yes, Mand, I am wearing my sunscreen). Mr. Young is a living legend in Israel. He played pro there and was the captain of their national team for most of the 1960s. He also played in the 1968 olympics and for the Cosmos in 1972-1973. He is also a real character and fun to be around. He told different stories about his playing days and growing up in Israel that were fascinating.

We headed back to the hotel where we had about 30 minutes to get ready to take a team run. After a shower and change into running gear, I met up with the boys in the lobby and we ran out into the streets of Haifa and took a short 1.5 mile course through the city to a park where we streched some and then ran back. Then coach spoke to us for awhile about strategy and ideas for tomorrow's game against Great Britain, which will open our games for us, we streched/cooled down and then headed back in for dinner.

At dinner, a rabbi sat with us. He was assigned to stay with our delegation over shabbat at the hotel, so he had been with us at lunch as well. He is an interesting guy. During meals, he would get up and say a few words about the torah portion that day and how it relates to what we are trying to do here at the Games. After dinner, he held a quick 5 minute Havdalah service. Other than maybe 2 other guys on the team, this was a first time experience for my teammates. I think they enjoyed it.

That evening we were planning on catching Bruno or some other movie, but we couldnt get to the movies in time, so we just walked down ths street to a pool hall where we played pool for about 3 hours. No alcohol of course, since we are 24 hours from game time. That was low key but fun since it was another great team bonding experience. We left the pool hall around 11 and were in bed by 11:30.

It was an odd day because I slept all morning and we didnt really train other than the run. Now, all the guys are really focusing on the game tomorrow evening against Great Britain and the role each of us will have to play. Everyone will have a meaningful contribution in the tournament b/c of the heat, the number of games, injuries and open substitution rules. We are quickly getting our game faces on. I should have a game to report in my next post!