grandson

THE YIZKOR CANDLE by Jacqueline Becker as it appears in MSK anthology

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     It was time to light the Yizkor, or memorial candle.  We traditionally light it during the week of shiva, or mourning.  We light it at sundown just before we light the four major holiday candles.  We also light it on the anniversary of the death of a close member the family.  The candle represents the soul.  Yizkor is the command verb to remember.  It would translate into:  “He SHALL remember.”  Remembering is imperative in our religion.  The candle is meant to burn a full 24 hours. 

    When our department took our supervisor out to celebrate her retirement, we went to a small, lovely Mexican restaurant.  It was late afternoon and the staff began to light the candles on our table.  My colleague-friend, Debbi, looked at me and I looked back at her.  We were the only ones who understood.  We burst out in laughter.  We could not hold back as the tears streamed down our cheeks.     To be continued tomorrow…

My promo is over in 2 days and so far…

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221 people are reading my book over the last 3 days.

WE SPLIT UP!!!!

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It was our last summer hurrah.  And I proposed something politically incorrect, even sexist!   My husband proposed going to Yankee Stadium with our grandson and son-in-law.  I looked at my daughter and granddaughter.  What were we- chopped liver?  I ordered tickets to the Gazillion Bubble Show and we had a girls day.  My granddaughter was picked to go onstage and since she believes she is Elsa, she had no problem pretending that the stage was a winter setting and the the bubbles were snow.

And what kind of girls day does not end with a little shopping spree?

5 more books sold!!!

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Thank you – whomever you are – for purchasing and reading my book.  If you have had a difficult life, were married, divorced, remarried, if you have now have grandkids, and you are still laughing  – you will relate to the story of my life!  18 % of sales goes to Memorial Sloan Kettering for keeping me alive!

Four more just sold…

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This book is an easy read but makes you think.  Please take it with you to the beach or pool or consider giving as a gift.  My book goes great with summer.

I talked stocks to my 6 year old grandson!

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I watch Jim Cramer whenever I can and I listen to him.  I do not buy stocks based on his recommendations BUT I listen to his advice.  I am a teacher, like him.  He tells us to get kids interested in stocks at an early age.  And the way to do it is by asking them what products they know and like.  Well,  after a sloppy explanation of what a stock is, and even I cannot wrap my head around what a stock actually is, I asked my grandson if he would be interested in the Walt Disney Company.  He said he did not like Frozen, so he would pass on that hypothetical stock.  But then he said he would like Netflix.  Now why didn’t I ask him 2 years ago, when Netflix was still affordable?  Then he thought:  What about a company that makes…you guessed it:  CHOCOLATE?

THIS IS MY GRANDSON’S FAVORITE ARTIST! And you can figure out why!

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My grandson is learning about Wayne Thiebaud IN KINDERGARTEN!  I found an exhibit of Wayne Thiebaud’s work at the Morgan Museum at the Morgan Library so I took my grandson in to the city to see the originals.  Of course we had to head to the cafe after going through the exhibit twice, and of course , we had to eat dessert first!  My grandson got the milkshake complete with whipped cream and I ordered the sorbet.  

IF the Morgan Library was less stuffy, they might have considered calling their desserts the Wayne Thiebaud specials.  That would have lightened the mood and connected the cafe to the exhibit.  

They also had a Medieval Monsters exhibit, that unfortunately was closed to the public when we happened to be there.  Wouldn’t a Medieval Monster Costume Ball in the cafe be a fun thing to offer?  Wouldn’t that lighten the mood, make the museum more inviting and fun?  In fact, the Medieval Monsters remind me of Maurice Sendak’s  Where the Wild Things Are.  Wouldn’t that have been a blast to have his illustrations on exhibit at the same time?

THE WRITING PROGRAM AT MSK is getting notice. Check it out – My GOTCHA! is part of this anthology.

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If you click on the link or go to MSK – Visible Ink – you can donate to the cause.  The anthology costs $25.00 and it is all work by Cancer patients who work with famous writers to get their work to professional level.  It is not only the body that must heal, it is the mind and soul, too.

My essay GOTCHA , where I talk to my grandson’s knee, is part of this anthology.

HELP FIGHT CANCER AND THE HAVOC IT WREAKS ON THE SOUL AND MIND AS WELL AS THE BODY.  And enjoy the writing.

MY GRANDSON REFUSED TO SIGN MY MOTHER’S DAY CARD!

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Mother’s Day is here!  We have an unusual tradition that my daughter invented.  My daughter and I celebrate Mother’s Day together the day before Mother’s Day.   She devotes almost the entire day and we spend it together doing girl things.  We chit chat over tea.  We buy junk jewelry.  We wander in and out and about town.  We sit down to lunch.  We get reflexology.  It is truly a great gift because my daughter is so busy.  I have to thank my son-in-law and my grandkids for sparing their mom for the entire day.  It makes us feel younger – like when my daughter was in high school.

On the real Mother’s Day, my daughter is the mother that her children celebrate.

She brought me a card and flowers and asked my granddaughter and grandson to sign.  My granddaughter sent me a “jewel.”  My grandson who is older and can write, refused to sign.

“It’s Mother’s Day,” the six year old lawyer inside him said.  “It’s not Grandmother’s Day,” he explained.

And the more I think about it, the more I respect his judgement to honor his Mother on this day!  And my daughter promised me that he will get me a card on Grandparents day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A LEGO CRAB

Posted on by miriambarrie

My five year old grandson made this out of Legos without instruction.  I asked him what it was.  He answered  “A crab.  See?  It goes sideways (Look and you will see the wheels or feet).  The flags are its eyes and see the pinchers?”  Immediately I thought about Picasso’s bicycle seat and handlebars bull.  This lego crab is quite ingenious and I am so proud.  But why am I also apprehensive?  Because my husband and I are both creative and everyone we know who is creative, struggles to make a living.   Our life insurance agent, who is totally substantive, our Orkin inspector, who is adorable and solid…Well it turns out, the former was a  research scientist, that is, until his grant was recalled.  And the latter was an almost famous animator with ties to Disney, whose work was recognized but then a project was pulled.  We went to the Herricks Musical Revue.  The talent was AMAZING!  The singers were BROADWAY quality.  So, why do some people “make it,” and others keep at it at night, in their basements, after a full day’s work, always frustrated?  And why do I applaud these dreamers and why am I one of them?  And why do we say we want creative students in our classrooms and yet we have them (including my grandson) coloring on color sheets and instructing them to be neat and color within the lines?