tales from a far-land

 Here are Madilyn's ten  year old interview responses.   What has been your favorite moment as a ten year old?  Vacationing in Avila Beach, CA. One word to describe you would be _______.  Smart. What do you love most about your sibling?  That Aiden plays with me often. What was your favorite activity this year?  Cheerleading. What was your favorite family event this year?  Surfing in Avila Beach. Can you tell me a bit about your birthday party from this past year?  We learned how to train dogs. What did you like about it?  I liked that I had all of my friends and Sadie at the party. What would you like to do differently next year?  Less yelling. What was your favorite story book?  Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. Is there a character from one of the books you read that you still think about sometimes?  Harry Potter What qualities about this character do you admire?  Brave, scared, and weird. What is something ...

It's a new year.  While reflecting over the year, I realized I haven't interviewed the kids in over three years.  Ugh!  Time passes so quickly.  So, I interviewed them.  Here are Aiden's age nine  interview answers : What has been your favorite moment as a nine year old?  Playing Super Smash Bros. on my birthday with my friends. One word to describe you would be _______.  Talkative. What do you love most about your sibling?  She helps me. What was your favorite activity this year?  Going to friend's houses for playdates or sleepovers. What was your favorite family event this year?  Jumping and climbing rocks in Wyoming. Can you tell me a bit about your birthday party from this past year?  Very small.  Oliver and Owen came over to swim and play video games. What did you like about it?  Playing video games.  I received a new game called Super Smash Bros. What would you like to do differently next year?  Have *...

2020.  How do I describe it? Exhausting.  Chaotic.  Relentless.  Surreal.  A dumpster fire.  Transformative.  Unprecedented.  Soul searching.  Lonely.  Overwhelming.  Quarantine.  Tumultuous.  Pandemic.  A monumental election.  A devisive county.  Civil unrest.  Masks.  Sports with no fans.  Political discord.  Toilet paper hoarding. And with all of that said, our family found it to be one of our best years yet.  There were so many blessings in 2020.   We connected with friends and family members in ways that we had not previously done.  We enjoyed Zoom happy hours, birthday parties, weddings, game nights and family reunions.  We connected with and befriended our neighbors.  We even created social bubbles so that we could connect with some family and friends in-person.  In a world full of social distancing, we still managed to feel connected and communal...

As I reflect on 2019, it was a year full of travel, family, friends, new adventures, great accomplishments, and saying goodbye.  We are so blessed and hope that 2020 bring even more incredible adventures and moments to our lives.  Here's to hoping and wishing ....

To my love and best friend, Ten years ago you chose me.  You will never understand how incredibly blessed you made me feel on that day, standing in front of our family and friends in the intense heat.  You held my hand, nervously recited your vows, which were adorably scribbled on a paper napkin, and expressed your love and commitment to me and our future together.     And every day since, we have both chosen to wake up next to each other and navigate through life together.  Some days have been rockier than others.  We definitely have had our share of fights, crying, struggles and failures.  We have had to find solutions to many problems, especially, when a resolution seemed to feel impossible or the puzzle piece (or refrigerator) didn't fit.  We have tested each other over and over, and yet, we have found a way to support and lift each other so that our marriage could succeed. We have also had our moments of pure bliss.  ...

Thirty years ago, in the summer of 1988, a five-week performing tour was taken by a group of thirteen kids (ages 11 to 17) and two adults.  I was lucky to have been one of the selected kids.  Theater Works, a community theater in Glendale, Arizona, was our sponsoring organization and led by David Wo, who was one of our adult leaders.  Our production (songs and script) was themed around social issues of peace and justice.  On our tour, we primarily performed in churches and social gathering settings, although we were known to sing on a street corner or by a national monument if David felt compelled to do so.   Before leaving on tour, our group rehearsed for months.  We also participated in a peace education course which challenged us to learn about peace and conflict resolution so that we could apply it in our every day lives.  Plus, it helped provide us more context about the songs that we were performing.   Lastly, the tour was...

Last spring, I was nominated to apply to The Women's Leadership Institute.  This is a program through the Women's Jewish Learning Center and PJ Library.  I was honored to be nominated.  I quickly applied and was accepted into the third cohort of the program.  The program is nine month journey to foster women's leadership for Jewish organizations in the Valley.  It started in September and ended in May.  As a participant in the program, I was matched with a mentor, whom I met with monthly, in addition, to our monthly group sessions.  During the course of the year, we explored several different leadership traits like life-long learning, learning from failure, effective communication, clarifying vision, and change through a Jewish lens.  It was very insightful to examine leadership skills that I have learned previously through Jewish text and stories. As another aspect of the program, the mentees are also tasked to create a project that will benefit ...

Madilyn Rae turned eight years old on Saturday, February 24th.  Wow!  My little girl is growing up.  She is becoming quite the little lady.  She is independent, strong willed and brave.  She is happy and carefree, most of the time. She is kind, thoughtful, helpful and honest. Although her own self-confidence sometimes waivers, it grows stronger more and more daily. She gets distracted sometimes, but can be hyper-focused when it comes to art, singing, dancing and swimming.  She loves her stuffed animals and will often treat them as members of the family.  She loves to read and often will choose this activity above all others (except maybe art).  She enjoys play-dates with her best friends, Gretchen and Natalie.  She enjoys my cooking, especially soups, spaghetti and Mexican food.  She *loves* art and is very creative.  She is a super hard worker; she is my perfectionist.  She is a good student and loves to learn.  She ...