Pansy From Nebraska, With Love

My mom sent me a little spring time gift in Tel Aviv for Easter which included the little ceramic mushroom pot above.   The instructions told me to crack the top of the pot open and start watering every day.  In a week, pansies would start to grow.

And there’s the proof it worked!

UPDATE:

A week later there was an unseasonably hot 90 degree day which baked the poor pansies to a crisp.  RIP little flowers.  It’s still a cool little pot!

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Quote of the day [family addition]

I was talking to my brother via IM and we were trying to trouble shoot why he couldn’t delete some pictures off of his hard drive.  While we were waiting for him to download the new Norton Anti-virus, we started talking about how sick everyone has been lately (including myself who has felt like dog turds for a week now).

Then he wrote:

“I wish they had Norton for humans!”

He nearly made me spit out my coffee.  Seriously, where can I download that!?

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Suprise, Nebraska!

I woke up last Thursday with a nagging thought. I hadn’t seen my Mom since arriving back in the States and since my plans to visit during Thanksgiving were dashed (work interference, dammit), I didn’t have any solid plans to see her and my step father in Nebraska.

Nebraska is close enough to Illinois to be manageable, but just far enough away to require several days off. My days off were soon going to be in short supply with a pending re-employment to my favorite Chicago based retail company, “Straight and Narrow”. cough.

So when I woke up on Thursday morning, I realized that the coming weekend would be my last full weekend for the foreseeable future. With every sip of coffee that morning, the thought of traveling to Nebraska seemed more and more appealing. I though to myself, “I can leave tomorrow (Friday) morning… spend all day Saturday… and then drive back Sunday!” I can usually make the drive from Illinois to the center of Nebraska somewhere between 10-12 hours.

But the big question rattling around in my head was if I should call Mom and let her know I was coming?

Think about it. I haven’t seen her since last winter. I’ve been overseas for six months. Should I drive 10+ hours to knock on her door as a surprise?

Hell yes! My deliberation didn’t last very long.

Fast forward to the next day (Halloween) after driving 10 hours through Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska.

I arrived at her door around 5pm on Halloween (Friday) just when she was supposed to get home from work. When I knocked, the dog barked, but that was the only movement I heard. It was a GORGEOUS day in Nebraska with blue skies and 80 degrees. I decided to sit down on the (new and gorgeous) deck to enjoy the afternoon and wait for her to come home.

Then I heard the toilet flush inside the house.

hmmm…. so I got up and went to my car to get my cell phone. I walked to the front door again and called the house phone. My Mom answers, “Hello?”. And I play it cool, “Hey Mom. How are you? How was your day?” I’m trying to decide how to make this a surprise still without having to ask her to come to the door so, I knocked again. HARD.

I knock so hard that now I’m certain I came off as an intruder of some sort. Not to mention, the dog started barking like crazy. And the whole time I could hear the scene being played in stereo through the telephone as I was standing at the door.

I knocked once. I knocked twice. But still no one would answer the door even though I clearly had her on the phone with me. It took me having to press my face in the window (I know, also kinda creepy) and yell, “Answer the door, Mom!” before she let me in.

At which point I yelled, “Trick or Treat!” to her screams of disbelief. Hugs and kisses and a great reunion ensued! I wished that I had a video of the scene but my memory will serve me well for it. And I have a feeling it’ll be a memory that will stay in me for the longest.

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Easter Sunday Politics

Easter Sunday was great. I had a wonderful brunch with Dad, step-mom, and bro. A local Italian restaurant was offering a buffet style Easter brunch with a tasty assortment of eggs, pasta, salad, chicken (or was it fish?), fruit, etc. Then back home to watch a DVD of the play, Aftermath of War, featuring the scribblings of yours truly. A very special thank you to the director for spelling my name correctly.

For dinner, I went to my Aunt and Uncle’s. I tried to keep the topic of conversation away from Israel during dinner because we all know EVERYONE has an opinion about it.

But it’s hard to ignore the fact that I’ll be leaving next week. Naturally the topic came up. Unfortunately, it came up mid-meal. Needless to say, never before have I been more adament about my “No politics with family” rule.

Please. Don’t talk politics at the dinner table. Don’t talk politics on holidays. Never. No. Don’t do it. Bad news. Danger ahead.

I find it very interesting to hear the opinions of people in regards to the Middle East under normal circumstances. But a family gathering is not a normal circumstance.

At any rate, the Easter bunny came and went. Onward with the preparations. 10 days until Israel. Lots to do!

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Trumped by a 5 year old: Journal 12/16/06

My brother came by today with my niece Abby and nephew Max.  Two of the most gorgeous and intelligent kids I’ve ever met in my life.  I see them and have hope that my kids will be just as rad as they are. 

My neice Abby asked me when she got here if we celebrated Christmas or Hanukkah.  I looked at her and said, “You know what Hanukkah is?” And then proceded to quiz her on it.  She told me that every day they light a candle for 8 days on a menora.  And there is a present for every day too.  I was shocked!  “Where did you learn this?” I said.  She told me they taught it in school.  Then she asked me again what we celebrate.  So, I pointed out the Christmas tree we were sitting next to and asked her if she knew what that was.  She said that it’s Christmas here then, right? 

Later when I was playing guitar for her she whispers in my ear to play a Hanukkah song about a dreidel.  I asked her how the words go because I couldn’t remember and she says, “Dreidel dreidel dreidel, I made it out of clay.  And when it’s dry and ready, Then dreidel I shall play!”  ha!  She knew it all!  So I sang, and we had a cheery ol’ Christmas/Hanukkah time.

I was trumped by a 5 year old.  I barely knew anything about Hanukkah until Einat explained it to me.  Abby has about a 20 year advance on me in this respect.  So, with that being said:
Happy Hanukkah everyone!

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