Before the Big Event

Well, this is probably the last blog from me before the big invasion, I mean visit, of the whole family.  In case my mother has not told someone, my youngest son is becoming a Bar Mitzvah soon.  Which of course means that he has decided to grow much taller in the past month and another child is about to outgrow me  Oh well, we can't all stay 5'2" forever (unless you are one of my bitter daughters).

So anyway, preparations are in full swing.  Sort of.  Because I am not an over-planner in general.  We kept the Bar/Bat mitzvah simple in the USA, and we are keeping it simple here.  I did however, make sure the Bar Mitzvah boy himself has pants that are not three inches too short.  I am good like that.

Here is a nice flashback photo of that kid: (obviously he is not alone in this picture because, well, he is the youngest so he has never been alone.

I even shlepped my girls to Jerusalem to buy dresses because I was assured via Facebook that this was the store to go to, to be sure your teen walks out with a dress.  They were right and we did.


But more importantly, let us discuss a few funny things that have happened.

WORK
Because this is always an amusing topic.

Nurse from another department enters our unit
Her: hi, what is your name
Me: Arielle
Her: what?
Me: Arielle
Her: again?
Me: yeah, its Arielle but I cant say the letter Reish so it's hard
Her: umm, okay
Co-Worker: giggling next to me

This scenario repeats itself over and over,.  Unless of course they understand me on the first try and then proceed to call me Ariella forever!

I really should have chosen a work name when I made aliyah.

RAIN
We ave finally started to get some rain here which is always a welcome blessing.  Of course, I still like to pretend that it is 80 degrees Fahrenheit every single day.  Which led me to be waiting for the work van one day in short sleeves and sandals, and then needing to hop over the raging street river to get into the van.  The driver looked at me like I was an alien.  When he asked me why I am not dressed for the winter, I said, I am from NJ, this is not winter (as I shivered in my seat)  Because I will not admit defeat!!  It was more of a problem after work when the wind and my skirt had a fight and the wind won.

My dog apparently does not mind the rain.  My daughter insists on putting on her doggie jacket anyway but my dog doesn't seem to care.  She actually prefers getting a nice amount of muddy paw-prints in my house.  The joke is on you Goldie, because we have all tile floors!

DOG
Well yeah we have the cutest puppy ever.  And she is supposed to be a super smart breed but sometimes I wonder if we received the dunce of the litter.  Or more likely she is just stubborn like a few members of this family.  Either way, she has never met a stranger and acts like a bucking bronco when you take her somewhere fun.  And fun for her means basically everywhere.  Example:  yesterday I had to take her to the vet.  A few days earlier she had just been to the groomer which is next to the vet.  We came up the stairs and the vet and the groomer were sitting outside together.  Well, Goldie about lost her mind.  She jumped into the groomer's lap and basically digested her face.  Then we walked into the vet and she licked every part of the vet's face as well.  She loves them almost as much as she loves tuna fish.  Because she is part cat.  Anyway, Goldie is just fine.

LET'S WRAP THIS UP
Okay, this blog too me longer (as usual) so I need to wrap this up because the Bar Mitzvah invasion has already begun.

I shall end with a tidbit from this past shabbat.  As most of all of you already know, here in Israel, religious (and non religious and non Jewish, etc..) nurses work on Shabbat.  This is permitted as it is considered saving a life.  This is not the case in America in general for nurses, as Jews make up such a small percentage of the population.  Anyway, when I first started working this seemed so weird but now it is a more normal part of my life here in Israel. I mean, I won't say it is without its awkward moments, like taking a charedi father and newborn on an elevator to a different unit, but anyway that's a story for another time. 

This past shabbat I worked the Friday morning shift as I often do.  We have transportation to and from the hospital for all shifts (and non Jewish drivers on Shabbat).  It is getting to be winter now so shabbat starts very early.  I was dropped off by the van, just a few minutes after shabbat began.  I got off of the van, and could not see who was across the street that I was waiting to cross, as it was blocked by the van.

Once the van moves on, I almost walked right into none other than the Chief Rabbi of Israel.  Awkward Shabbat Shalom.

And with that, Shabbat Shalom to everyone!