I started a new job yesterday... well, it's a second job and so far, so good. It's not a career but it seems like it could be fun. I get to talk on the phone all day. I'm a talker. Perfect fit. So, enough about that and on to the real stuff...
Last night, T and I ventured to Ann Arbor for a concert. Who played- you ask?? Ari Hest. I've known Ari for about four years (almost). We initially met when I randomly wandered into the Borders Books & Music in Novi, Michigan. I went to buy some books and was actually looking at them when I heard a commotion and saw there was going to be an in-store concert. I looked to my right and in walked this really tall, really good looking Jewish guy. Immediately I thought "I'm going to marry that guy" although I had no idea he was the guy performing. We met a little while later and it was magical. Well, to me it was magical. He pestered me that afternoon to bring my cousin to his next show (which was in two hours) and I told him that she was too young. He told me to bring her anyway but we saw a movie instead. A few weeks later, he played Michigan again and I brought Michele. I was so nervous to talk to him that Michele threatened to push me all the way to go talk to him. I felt like I was in eighth grade again at the end of the school year dance when I had a big crush on Erik Silver and Jamie threatened to push me all the way in his direction to go talk to him. On both occasions I felt it would be less embarrassing to just go talk to the guy instead. Again, magic (for me).
Over the past few years, I've been to nearly every concert he's played in Michigan. The only exception being when he played at a festival in Ann Arbor last year. I had been home from Israel for less than a week and my grandmother threatened to kill me if I didn't show up to Shabbos dinner (because she hadn't seen me in a year). I weighed my options but in the end my family won and I went to Shabbos dinner. I e-mailed Ari to tell him of the threat on my life if I didn't eat dinner with my family and he suggested I obey my grandmother's wishes. Little did I know it would be almost a year before he would play Michigan again.
Last night was an amazing show- as always. On numerous occasions I received text messages (SMS for my Israeli friends) from my friends saying "say hello to your future husband for me" which made me giggle - mostly because my friends still call him that. I'm sure nearly every Jewish girl that has seen Ari play has also called him her future husband. Yet, last night, there was a certain familiarity when I saw him. For some reason, no matter what hair color I have, he always recognizes me and I always get a big hug. It's always magical (for me). I always leave feeling giddy. I explained to T yesterday that there is a certain ex I always run into - and it always seems to be that I run into him when I feel fat and disgusting. Yet, whenever I see Ari, no matter how bad I feel - I always feel better in his presence... like I'm special or something.
Upon returning home, giddy as ever (and knowing I was not going to fall asleep early), I saw an instant message on my laptop from another friend of mine (who has seen Ari play with me - and has also told me that he treats me differently than other people). His IM said "Did you see the article in the Jewish News about your future husband? I presume you did." and I had. Maybe one day he'll come visit me in Israel... maybe one day I'll work for the Israelis in New York... maybe both will happen. Maybe.
24 June 2008
06 June 2008
celebration?
Two years ago today I moved to Israel and became an Israeli citizen. That's right 6-6-06. While I initially believed this date to be cursed, someone pointed out to me that it also adds up to 18 - a lucky number in Judaism. So, how does one celebrate a day that brought immense happiness to said individual? How does one celebrate when they are not currently in the country of their choice? These are questions I am pondering today.
As many people know I am not in Israel right now. :-(
I came home to Detroit less than a year ago on vacation and my entire world fell apart. My mom fell ill and then it got worse. She had cancer (b"h she is fine now) but this was just one thing in a string of bad-happenings. One by one my grandparents got sick. It seemed to happen all within a span of a few months. The mere thought of this all brings me to tears. In that time span I lost my grandfather. However, I also gained a new appreciation for what I am capable of.
So, what am I capable of? A LOT! I became the schlep for my grandfather when he could no longer drive. Occasionally, it got the best of me but I long for the conversations that he and I had in my car as I drove him to his chemotherapy appointments and blood transfusions. Our driving sessions became a weekly thing. However, it was a lot of pressure to put on a 26 year-old. When my grandmother became ill - my grandfather's world fell apart. On one occasion, I had driven my grandfather from his chemotherapy appointment to the hospital. He had an overnight stay and on a whim I drove to the hospital the next day to check up on him AND my grandmother - they were in the same hospital, but on different floors. Upon seeing my grandfather, we ran into my grandmother's surgeon who mentioned she was gravely ill and needed surgery immediately or she would die. How's that for a Saturday morning? At one point, after yelling at my cousin on the phone, I called my sister Jodi and broke down. The straw that broke the camel's back had come and I needed help. My mother had just been let out of the hospital for her last cancer surgery and she couldn't do much. My uncle was in Arizona. I had my sisters to lean on. For the next month we drove my grandfather to see my grandmother as she recovered from her surgery - that was almost as hard as seeing her in the hospital.
I've learned that no matter how strong I think I am, I am not without fault and I often need help. When I left Israel, I had every intention of returning... I just didn't think it would take me a year to return. Yet, my sister Kim put it best when she told me that had I been in Israel with all these things happening I would have cracked and probably gone nuts. I'm grateful for the time I've had in Detroit but I know it is time to go home and re-start my life.
Next year at this time I will be in Israel celebrating 3 years of being "Israeli" and remembering how my second year went. Despite all the negative things that happened in Detroit, I was able to retain my "Israeli" attitude and drive. I taught new people about the wonders of Israel and of the trials that come with being Jewish in a non-Jewish world. I did my best to be "Israeli" outside of Israel by teaching and advocating on behalf of the State of Israel. These are things I couldn't have done while I was in Israel. I made the most of this year but by the end of August I will be home again. Safe and sound.
As many people know I am not in Israel right now. :-(
I came home to Detroit less than a year ago on vacation and my entire world fell apart. My mom fell ill and then it got worse. She had cancer (b"h she is fine now) but this was just one thing in a string of bad-happenings. One by one my grandparents got sick. It seemed to happen all within a span of a few months. The mere thought of this all brings me to tears. In that time span I lost my grandfather. However, I also gained a new appreciation for what I am capable of.
So, what am I capable of? A LOT! I became the schlep for my grandfather when he could no longer drive. Occasionally, it got the best of me but I long for the conversations that he and I had in my car as I drove him to his chemotherapy appointments and blood transfusions. Our driving sessions became a weekly thing. However, it was a lot of pressure to put on a 26 year-old. When my grandmother became ill - my grandfather's world fell apart. On one occasion, I had driven my grandfather from his chemotherapy appointment to the hospital. He had an overnight stay and on a whim I drove to the hospital the next day to check up on him AND my grandmother - they were in the same hospital, but on different floors. Upon seeing my grandfather, we ran into my grandmother's surgeon who mentioned she was gravely ill and needed surgery immediately or she would die. How's that for a Saturday morning? At one point, after yelling at my cousin on the phone, I called my sister Jodi and broke down. The straw that broke the camel's back had come and I needed help. My mother had just been let out of the hospital for her last cancer surgery and she couldn't do much. My uncle was in Arizona. I had my sisters to lean on. For the next month we drove my grandfather to see my grandmother as she recovered from her surgery - that was almost as hard as seeing her in the hospital.
I've learned that no matter how strong I think I am, I am not without fault and I often need help. When I left Israel, I had every intention of returning... I just didn't think it would take me a year to return. Yet, my sister Kim put it best when she told me that had I been in Israel with all these things happening I would have cracked and probably gone nuts. I'm grateful for the time I've had in Detroit but I know it is time to go home and re-start my life.
Next year at this time I will be in Israel celebrating 3 years of being "Israeli" and remembering how my second year went. Despite all the negative things that happened in Detroit, I was able to retain my "Israeli" attitude and drive. I taught new people about the wonders of Israel and of the trials that come with being Jewish in a non-Jewish world. I did my best to be "Israeli" outside of Israel by teaching and advocating on behalf of the State of Israel. These are things I couldn't have done while I was in Israel. I made the most of this year but by the end of August I will be home again. Safe and sound.
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