Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and somehow I actually slept in and missed the march.  San Antonio has one of the largest marches in the nation, believe it or not, and it's always a great day with many fabulous speeches and actions, and I missed it this year.  I don't usually sleep well, so for me to have slept is a little weird.  I guess I must have needed it.

Speaking of MLK, I've always considered him to be one of my "heroes."  I would have liked to have known him, to have marched with him, to have sat at his feet and learned from him.  He made so much of what is happening today possible.  Without him, not only would the antiquated ideas of race be, well, antiquated, I doubt that women's rights, gay rights-all of our rights would be where they are today.  We still have a way to go, but thank goodness for Martin and others like him, who stood up when it would have been easier to sit down.

I watch my grandchildren playing, and they are still too young to even notice race or anything else that often divides adults.  I love that.  I love that they accept everyone, that they haven't learned judgment, and hope that when they do, they will use it based on action instead of race, gender, orientation or that which contributes to make each of us the persons we are.

So, Mr. King, I'm sorry I missed the march in your honor today, but I promise to keep the dream alive in my own little way.  May we all follow in your footsteps and "be the change" we envision.

Peace.

I keep thinking I'm going to get better at keeping up with this, but then life (or something) gets in the way.  I spent the night last night with Oren, so Alana could go out with some friends for the New Year.   He's a ball of energy at 1 1/2, and we had lots of fun playing, reading books and watching the ball drop in NYC.  Yes, he was still up at midnight!

Alden started walking! He's 10 months old and is determined to keep up with big brother, Asher, who loves trains and is quite the conversationalist at 2 1/2 and so very smart.  It's really great to have them close by now that they've moved back to the area.  Ryan and Vicki bought a lovely home on some acreage outside San Antonio.  Their view is beautiful.

I also had Rachel's boys over for awhile a couple of days ago.  I had gotten some painting kits- some were magnets to paint, and some were simple paint by numbers.  They sat at the dining room table and painted away, making some very cool magnets and pretty pictures to take home to Mommy, who was, of course, thrilled!  Baby Renna is talking already at 8 months. She says Mama, Dada, Up, Uhoh, and Dog very clearly.  Abram is in Kindergarten and I had him read some for me while he was over here.  All these brilliant kids!  Khalil and Aden are both amazing, too- and all so sweet.

Thanksgiving brought everyone together this year- Kristinn and the kids came in from Virginia, and all the rest of the kids and grandkids live here now.  It was one of the best Thanksgivings ever.  Sofia is much into art, and she is very talented  Gabriel is quite the comedian and very good with the younger kids.  He was a huge help.

Then for Hanukkah, everyone came over (except Kristinn and the kids who were, by then, back in Va.) to light candles, exchange gifts and eat latkes, of course.

And now it's a new year, and I'm feeling such positive change in the air.   May yours be full of love and laughter and all that is good.

graduation

graduation

Wasn't it such a short time ago
 that my youngest
 learned how to tie his shoes?
 Today I noticed a picture of him
 on the refrigerator
 just a little boy
 big smile on his chubby face.
 This evening,
he asked for my car keys
and off he went
 now over 6 feet tall
 big smile on his bearded face.
 Time flies-such a cliche
 but truer than I knew
 when I still tucked him in
  at night.

Recent pictures

This is Asher at almost a year.











Newest addition, Oren, shortly after birth.
















Most of the boys with Papa and Ryan-we're missing Gabriel but hope to get them ALL together at the upcoming family reunion.















Eli went to the prom this year. Here we are before he left to pick up his date.

hmmm

I can't believe it's been nearly a year since I last posted here. What have I been doing? I'm not even sure. I went back to teaching this year- via substituting for my friends and former colleagues and found myself enjoying it for the most part. I started and ended the year in long term positions, the second one in my very own former classroom, which was sort of surreal. My electric hole puncher was still there, my name scrawled across it in black sharpie. I accidentally left it when I moved, this hole puncher I'd purchased myself, but I'm glad another teacher gets use out of it now. Those last 4 weeks, I had 4 truly wonderful classes and one that was difficult. If only I had more time with them, I think we would've become close, and it made me sad that we didn't. It was hard leaving, feeling as though I wasn't able to impact this particular group in a more positive way. Yet, I did make connections with several-one girl who shared her writing with me and I found it truly excellent. I have no doubt that if she continues, she will be published one day. Another shared her music with me, and we found we had much in common. These students made me realize how much I'd missed the classroom- well, not the classroom, but the relationships built in that classroom.

Personally, I was blessed with another grandchild-bringing us up to 7- 6 of them boys. Oren Louis joined us on May 27- a happy, bright eyed little guy.

A big family reunion looms in July, when my clan will join together at the Jersey shore. It will be the first time in a very long time all of us will be together. Almost all of us, anyway.

I need to post new pictures-and hope to get on that soon!

And we're off- almost

On Tuesday we embark on a road trip to Louisville, Kentucky, where we'll visit Ryan and Vicki and meet our newest grandson, Asher Riley. We'll be driving from San Antonio, leaving Alana and Jake to take care of the house and the pets. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and try to post them. Another reason for this trip is that Eli qualified for Junior Gold- the national youth bowling competition in Indianapolis. He just received his 300 ring a couple of weeks ago, and needless to say, he's pretty thrilled with that. I'm not particularly looking forward to all of those hours in the car, but I'll try to remain positive- after all, it's what's at the destination that's important, and I'm definitely looking forward to that! I was hoping to see Kristinn and family on this trip, too, but they're not going to be able to make it. One of these days, I'll get all of these grandchildren together. I now have as many grandchildren as I do kids! Khalil just had his first birthday- he was especially interested in the icing on the cake. He is a funny little guy- he mumbles, but we all understand what he's saying- "Pick me up," "I want down," "Give me some." He has all these 3 word sentences. And he loves to dance. He starts by just moving his head up and down, and then it's as if the beat moves to his shoulders, then his arms, and eventually his whole body is grooving away. Gabriel, our oldest grandson, is going to be 7 in August and moving on up to second grade! I love reading Kristinn's blog about the funny things Gabe and Sofia say and do. Sofia is the princess of the family as our only little girl- which is the opposite of the generation before her where girls ruled the roost! Aden, who's 4, is ready to start school, but he has to wait one more year, and Abram is a different character every time I go visit. Lately, he's been Peter Parker, and he'll tell me, "Look, Bubbe- there's a spider under here, and he bit me, so now I'm Spiderman, but right now, I'm Peter Parker, and I'll turn into Spiderman when I need to."

I've been retired for an entire year now, and I must say the time has gone by very quickly. I am thinking about going back to work, and have a couple of possibilities. I'll let you know what they are if either should come to fruition. It's different thinking about work at this point in my life because if I decide I don't like it, I don't have to stay. That's good to know!

Recently, I attended the San Antonio Film Festival, where a new friend of mine, Michael Pertnoy, showed his film, The Last Survivor. I will be helping with the curriculum on the film, and I'm very excited about that. The movie won the Audience Award- which is a pretty big deal.

It's been awhile since I've been here. I tend to concentrate more on my writers' group creative blog, and I keep a blog for my synagogue as well. I feel like I'm just as busy as I was when i worked- but I'm enjoying all of it!

The Virginians

Just had a lovely visit with Kristinn, Tim, Gabriel and Sofia. The time always flies, and it seemed like it really zoomed by this time. Kristinn was here for a conference as an exhibitor for the EPA, so while she was downtown doing her thing, I got to play. It was great to have all of my grandchildren together! The two top pictures are all of my daughters, and the bottom one is of my grandchildren with me. (Gabriel, Aden, Sofia, Khalil (on my lap), and Abram)