My first grade teacher and I are pen-pals. (Snail mail, ink and paper pen-pals). We’ve been writing letters since she retired and moved down South, some thirteen years ago. Before she moved away at the end of her last year teaching, she visited each of the classrooms of students she had taught, took pictures with us, and gave out her …
Sometimes I think my dating life is like Harry Potter’s visit to Ollivander’s to buy a wand. It’s an encouraging thought. (Can we expect great things?) …”Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave.” Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it …
Over Pesach at my grandparents’, I read parts of Tuesday at Dawn by Ruth Attias, a short collection of the teachings of Rebbetzin Kanievsky a”h. The rebbetzin was known to advise people in need of a yeshuah to add a new tefillah to their daily line-up. Well, I’m in need of a yeshuah. Since high school and seminary, …
My friend and I went out for lunch after her one-hundredth date. We ordered ourselves a milchig spread and talked for over an hour, about how much we’ve grown over our years of dating, how we’ve learned how to make ourselves happy, how we’ve found teachers and books and learning modalities that have helped us develop. How proud we are …
So I’ve mentioned before that I work in a school setting, and that I recently changed jobs. Earlier this year, I divided my time between two schools in a nearby district. For the first time, I had no frum coworkers. I figured it wouldn’t be much of an issue. I’m a friendly person and pretty comfortable with anyone. I was …
Ok, did you read “Time-Out,” by Rikki Ehrlich, in last week’s Family First? I thought it was terrific! So creative and different and real and funny. I laughed my head off. The story is about 31-year-old Shuli, who is invited to a shidduch retreat to take a “brake” from decision-making. She’s seriously dating someone and feeling stuck. The retreat …
A few friends and I have a tradition of celebrating our birthdays together. Recently, as our default, we’ve been going out to eat (usually to a steakhouse, with cocktails). For one friend a couple years ago, we did a Strayboots hunt on Fifth Avenue followed by dinner. For another friend, we bought salads and cheesecake and had a picnic in a park …
I spend a decent amount of time researching children’s books and games for my job. Seeing as you may have nieces or siblings or cousins or someone’s little kids to shop for, and it is afikoman season, after all, here is a round-up of items that would make great gifts. I love the Bunny Peek-a-Boo brain game. It’s clever and fun and …
Sometimes on a date, it can be hard to think of meaningful questions in the moment. I decided to compile a list of dating conversation topics to help myself out, and it ended up becoming such a fun writing exercise. (I did a lot of this on the beach.) So, here it is…conversation topics to help you get to know …
My younger cousins and I have a tradition. Whenever I go to their house for Shabbos, I bring along a stack of picture books from the library to read with them. Everyone (especially me) looks forward to cozying on the couch and looking through the books I brought. It’s a simple way to connect with my cousins who are a lot younger than me and spend …
