New Page -------New Day

I bought a book at a second hand book store. The title is "8,789 words of Wisdom". I like to flip through the pages because the wisdom is there for the taking. Here are a few that give me pause--"age is important if you are a cheese." I guess that I am in the cheese catagory. I am suitably aged, but not moldy, I have developed a certain ripeness, and I am not lactose intolerant.

Age is important. I don't feel my chronological age. That's a good thing because I think I would be depressed if I acted what my age represents to the younger generation--old. I read that age is a frame of mind and I believe that. A question in this book is "how old would you be if you didn't know your age?" I think I would pick some where in my early 40's. That's after the raging hormones of being a teen, it's after I have decided what I want to be when I grow up,(until I changed my mind) and after I was comfortable in my own skin. 50 is already half a lifetime, if I planned to live until 100. I'm still thinking about that one. My Mother lived into her 90's, so it is possible. 60 is when gravity is beginning to work it's way down. 70 is Ok . Still young enough to make long term plans, to buy something on time,to start a new knitting project.

I think 40 is a good place to be. On my next birthday I will tell everyone that I am actually 40. It's never too late to acknowledge that age is important and that my math is really, really bad.

I didn't think I had idiocincracies, but some were pointed out to me by a loved one. So what if toilet paper roll and the paper towel roll has to be unrolled from the top? And lights on in every room is a sign of a living home. I don't like to have a dark house, even if I am not home. Who wants to come home to a dark house? And I am a  champion bubble gum blower. I did lose my champion status to another woman in our Congregation,  but I've asked to compete against her again. It's a skill I learned early and one I have continued to practice. I always chewed Dentyne gum while I ran. Bubble gum lost its flavor too quickly

When we were raising our family in Evanston, we always sat on the same side of our Synogogue, even if not in the same seats. I seem to be still doing that.

I have to have all of the hangers facing the same way on my side of the closet. The closet looks so much better and organized that way. I do also try to hang my clothes in color groups. Even though most of them came from Good Will, I feel I should show them respect.

It's never too late to have these idiocincracies,especially if you know how to spell it.

In case you couldn't tell, I really like being Jewish. I don't want anybody between me , my conscious and God. I was reminded of this when we saw a NetFlex movie the other night. It was about a zealous Catholic woman who was going to be nominated by her Priest to be Catholic Woman of the year. Only problem was that she had never gone public (or in the confessional) with the fact that her husband was a AA member in good standing, her son was going to divorce his wife, and her daughter was a lesbian. Two out of three things that the church frowns on. She longed for the acknowledgement of being Catholic Woman of the year because she would then get the the reward of absolution by some Bishop. That's when I reafirmed to myself that I am glad to be who I am. No intermediary between me and God. How could a man be the one to absolve a person of anything. And what specifically does she need to be absolved from? Keeping her private life private.? We know what has gone on in the Catholic Church, so how can some man decide that he can absolve someone of anything.

I had to look up the word, absolution. I didn't understand what it meant . The movie had a happy ending,but it made me aware of how much I like being a Jew. No middle man for me.

I make my own peace with religion,and let others make their own peace, but for me, it is never too late to talk directly to God , but I sure would like a few answers

I am so good. I fixed my electric stove--by myself. The oven wouldn't turn on and instead ,the notation of LOC came up on the electronic key board. First , I pushed every thing that I could. Secondly, I hit the panel a few times. I opened and closed the  oven door several times. Nothing happened. I went to the computer, looked up troubleshooting for a Whirlpool electric stove. Then I found the owners manual . I keep all manuals, even from appliances that we no longer have. I'm good about saving them.I went back to the stove, pushed a few more buttons in different combinations and --I fixed it.

In the mean time, my spouse was looking in the yellow pages for a repair service. A waste of time when I am so impatient to push buttons, hit panels and get instant gratification. It's not always good to be so impatient and kick your appliances, but this time I had a good outcome.

I think the stove knows that I don't like it. I originally wanted a stove that I was smarter than. Seems I got my wish. It's never too late to acknowledge that I made a mistake when I selected this stove, but I did prove that I am smarter than it is.

 I have passed on a bad gene to one of my daughters. She, I just learned, reacts the same way that I do, when confronted by an electronic devise that isbehaves. She kept this from me until recently when she had to get a new cell phone. She lost some features on the phone that she couldn't program back.

My daughter was so frustrated that she wanted to throw the phone out . Her husband had to do an intervention . I understand. I ,too, get that way and with the same sense that the only thing to do is throw out this piece of electronics that is ruining my day.

I had hoped that I had passed other attributes on to my child. There weren't electronic devises out there when I was raising our children and when they did come into my life, I tried not to have these electronic hissy fits in front of the children. But if it is DNA based, it is hopeless. I don't think I have passed this on to the 5 grandsons. They have those computer chips in their brains. This isn't a boy/girl thing, it's a genetic thing. It's like spelling and a sense of directions.You have the gene or you don't. It's never too late to apoligize to your kids for the weaknesses you passed onto them. Sorry, kids.

I feel as if I live in an urban community, but when I walk Cricket in the early morning, I almost feel as if I am in a country setting. I can hear cows from a neighboring farm. A racoon often turns over our garbage can and the squirrels are prolific. Birds, other than shore birds flit in and out of the trees. I get excited when I see a Cardinal or Blue Jay. We also have a resident wood peeker. That bird is insistant and perfers a hollow limb that makes a really loud sound as he relentlessly peeks. I've seen a Bob Cat several times and the other night,our visiting daughter in law saw a hugh owl standing near our recycle bin. Now that's country. I'm still waiting to see a panther. I've seen an eagle, twice.

When I am driving to our Congregation, I pass a series of open fields. Some have trees that make a barrier from the road. I can spot beautiful horses back in the field. I think they are race horses who are wintering in Florida. And I almost forgot about the small herd of goats that I pass.

When I take that early morning walk with Cricket, I say my Shema, breathe deeply, and listen for the sounds around me. It is never too late to just stop , smell the pine trees , look at the beautiful palms trees ,and be thankful that I can.

Some times life can be so easy. I ordered, by mistake, two of a product when I only wanted one of them. No big deal says the company. Go to a UPS store and just send it back. We'll credit your account. That was so easy. This made up for other weeks when there were missteps and mishaps. This was a good week . I could feel it. Life is good.

Some of my snow bird neighbors are going home. That will make Cricket unhappy. They are part of her morning walk about. I don't think anyone can fill their petting hands until they return next year. I told them to read my blog so they can keep up with my life. They were surprisingly supportive and really excited for me to be even thinking about moving to Israel. I will put them down on a list I have made of friends who say they will visit me. I am thinking that I will need a guest room. As I understand it, apartments are smaller than what we are used too. No matter, having a place for friends is important to me. I will make it work.

In my head, I have rearranged the furniture many times in the only apartment that I know in Israel. There is an Ikea Store some where in Israel. I'll find it . Israel is a small country, so I should be able to have delivery. I wonder if they have those little Swedish meatballs in their food court? Are they Kosher? Are they even beef.

If anyone should ask me what I do all day, I'd have to say that I often day dream. When I first moved to Chicago, I used to dream that I was locked at night in a Marshall Fields store. I think I was in the dress department. That was a fun dream. Now I dream about what life might be like in Israel.

It's never too late to move the furniture around one more time and make up a guest list..

We just bought a new used car. It feels pretty powerful sitting up high in this van. No more mini van, I now have a van, van. We can't decide what color it is. I think it is a champagne blond. That is good enough for my spouse. We are thinking of naming it Goldilocks. We'll try out the name for while and see if it is a good fit.

We took Cricket for a ride in the van and right away she had a problem. There is a console between the front seat. She is used to walking through from the back to the front. She'll figure it out .

This car has a fancy key that remotely opens and shuts every door in the car. That is a blast. I've been envious of a friend who has a key that does that. Our old car had a key. Period. And after 13 years, it was looking a little bent. Now I have this key and that is almost like having a special modern toy. Click, it opens the front, click ,it opens the back. I can even lock the doors and the remote beeps. We are so simple, that a few minutes ago, our neighbor came over and asked if we meant to leave the doors opened on the car. We forgot to close them after we had play time.

And electronics. I have them to raise the seat, to push the seat forward,and to adjust the back rest.There are a bunch of outlets that things can be plugged into. I don't know what kind of things, but if we need the outlets, there they are. But wait, there are also many, many cup holders, too numerous to mention.

Our buying a used car makes me feel good. I feel as if I am participating in a recycling event. It's never too late to feel as if I'm going green.

We just came back from a Nefesh B Nefesh meeting on the East coast of Florida for people who were thinking of making Aliyah in two to five years. I haven't been in a public space with so many Jews in a long time. It was nice. We checked into the hotel earlier and spent time watching people come for the program. The Kipas gave the men away, with the women in jeans and colorful tops, it was harder. With the exception of one woman,who wore up to the neck and down to the ankle clothes, everyone looked to be in modern ,secular dress. That was comforting.. Nice to know that we could all fit in.

There was a raffle for a trip to Israel. You had to be present to win. We stayed until the very end as did everyone else, so we would be eligable. I was hoping that my luck would change and I would win the raffle. It didn't and I didn't win.

You know that my spouse isn't exactly on board about making this journey with me and I am not making the journey without him  or Cricket. This, it seems, is not unusual. The spouse part, not the Cricket part. I was reminded that people have different time lines and that is the same with two people who have lived together for 59 plus years. That made me feel better. It will happen.

I learned a great deal about health care (we are both on board about that issue) and about taxes. The healthcare sounds very democratic. Everyone pays into the system, even retires.So it's not entirely free, but after what we pay here, it will seem free.The presenter pointed out that no system is all good. Things happen and sometimes you run into a glitch. When that happens, go to your Hebrew speaking Israeli neighbor and get them to go to bat for you. I'll have to learn to say " can you help me" in Hebrew, though. I'll work on that  phrase. I can add it to the one other sentence that I flawless know, "I want one beer".

It was a good evening, I'm glad we both went and it is never too late to figure out your time line for making that journey, together.

A friend lost her long time pet. Lost is a euphemism for the pet died. I am sorry for her loss and I understand how sad she is. When we put Charlie to sleep (another euphemism) he was very sick and it was time to do it. My friends pet was 17 years old. It was his time too.

Now they have the same problem as I still do. Where to put the remains. You know that I still had Charlie's ashes under the back seat of our car. I don't think my friend is the kind to let the ashes sit under the seat for over a year. It's probably better her way.

I still feel as if I can communicate with Charlie. Cricket doesn't communicate. She is the sweetest dog we have ever had. She is loving and cuddly, but she doesn't have that ability. Someone once said the Cricket marches to her own music. I don't necessirily believe that, but she is not very deep.She is not a great thinker.Her emotions are right on the surface. Love, wagging tail and licks, no hidden agenda or a deeper meaning. It's never too late to acknowlege that having your heart on your sleeve and just giving love isn't such a bad trait .

Places I'm not going to go  include: Aleppo, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Somalia. I'm not decided on Egypt. It's a maybe.

I've been to Texas, so I don't have a need to go back. Same with Mississippi.

When for a short time we had a condo in Gulfport, Mississippi, I was running on the beach and ran into  David Duke and a bunch of Confederate flag flying, red necks having a rally on the same beach. We decided to sell as quickly as we could. It didn't seem so attractive after that experience. Then another time a dog jumped into the condo's pool . The dog was black. The association was horrified. I still feel that if the dog had been white, they would have laughed about it. We needed to leave the state of Mississippi.

I would go to Tuscany in a heart beat. Who wouldn't. Except for the romance of being in Italy, you can get olives, olive oil and wine in Israel .  Tuscany is all about the food to me.

I'll go to Israel first and then decide what to do with the adventures I have left. It's never too late to keep adding adventures to my to do list.

In a few days I am going to meet with representatives of Nefesh B Nefesh, here in Florida.They are the organization that arranges for you to make Aliyah. It means Soul to Soul.
My spouse and I will make a mini vacation out of the meeting by staying over night at the hotel. It is being held several hours from us and I didn't want to drive back after the meeting.

Cricket already has plans to spend the night with her buddy, Lucky.

I am looking forward to this meeting. I hope it makes my husband feel as strongly about making Aliyah as I do.

I have a growing list of questions to be answered. I am interested in how we will live there, how we will handle the health care system, the bureauocracy,the language ,banking,finances. Materialistic, but practical. This is what you have to do when you are the decision maker.

It used to be that the only decision I really had to make was what color would I like our next new car to be. Life threw me a curve ball. I caught it and moved on. Catching that ball contributed to my reinvention. I don't like why I had to catch that ball, but it was good for me. I could do it, I did it and I am not going to strike out.

It's never too late to keep on running around the bases. In Chicago, we always say" next year for the Cubs", maybe I can start saying "next year in Jerusalem."

Are there things that just drive you crazy about a friend, who may also be your spouse.?

I have a few things. Tearing small pieces of newspaper and using that as a book marker is one. We have at least 6 pretty book markers around. Three, I could probably find in a minute and the rest are in a safe place. Book markers are an easy thing to buy in gift shops when you are traveling. If you don't give them to someone when you return from a trip, you can put them in a safe place and use when you have to mark your page in a book. Before we return our library books, I have to pull little scraps of newspaper out of the books that were read.

I suppose the craziness could be worse. Who knew 59 years ago that small scraps of newspaper in library books could annoy me. I must have been blind to that act or too much in love to notice, or spouse/friend didn't do that then. Whatever the reason, it is never too late to just clear out the paper scraps and try one more time to recondition said person to using a book marker. Really , it is never too late to change.

I just read my latest Nefesh B Nefesh group email and I saw a notice of a woman's only trip to the Dead Sea. It sounded so great. They were offering a whole day to relax at the facility. To float "your troubles and stress away". To be completely supported by the sea. It sounded so good, that if I were in Israel right now, I'd call and join them. I am going to put that group on my to do list. After floating in the sea, I can go to the Spa for a massage if I want. I want. I copied the name of this group because I bet it does other supportive group events. It should also be a good way for me to meet women.

I've been to the Dead Sea twice. The first time, I went bare footed. Those salt deposits hurt your feet.No one had told me that. The next time I went, I wore flip flops into the water. The first time I went , I couldn't believe that I was able to do what everone said you do, float. The second time I went, I knew the ropes. Relax, float, flip flops,massage, mud,shower. buy some products. I can't wait to do all of these things again. I know there is more to making Aliyah than being able to float in the Dead Sea , but it is never too late to start thinking about how I have an option of floating my cares away.

I know that writing my blog is the right thing for me to do. I know because it feels right and I am not shy about telling people to read it. I want everyone to read it.

I don't like to sell raffle tickets, I don't like to ask people to buy ads, but for some reason, and this is what makes me think that this blog is what I am to do, I don't hesitiate to tell people about the blog and to hand out my colorful cards.(www.ushouldtell.com, in case you want to tell someone.)

My next project is to learn how to spread the word about my blog. Of course I went to the library and I took out books that have information about FaceBook and Twitter. I think more people use Face Book. I use email to" talk" to my friends. FaceBook seems so public. I should get over that because going public is what I want. A dilemma.

I need a Grandson to tell me how to do this. They all seemed to have been born with a computer chip in their brain.

It's never too late to let the younger generation know that you can't do it without them and as one Grandson told me years ago, "you just don't get it, Yoni".