Light in Our Lives: One In an Occasional #BlogElul Series

Thanks to Ima from Ima on (and off) the Bima
for this Blog Elul badge.

In today’s Jewel of Elul, Rabbi Jack Riemer, founding chair of the National Rabbinic Network writes:

Let us appreciate the light in our lives and thank God for it every day, especially at the beginning of every year, for that is when the sun and the moon finish their yearly cycles and start all over again.

And when we do, too.

Earlier today (at nearly seven weeks post-op), I saw the plastic surgeon for what felt like the umpteenth time, and tonight I am especially appreciative of these glimmers of light in my life:

1. I'm going back to work (for at least part of the day) on Monday.
2. Tonight, for the first time in seven weeks, I'm going to sleep on my stomach.
3. I'll be doing so sans bra, although I will be wearing a gauzy, tube top thingy (that's the technical term) to hold a wound dressing in place. (Sorry if this is TMI for some of you, but after many weeks spent in spandex 24/7, this is something for which I am truly grateful!)
4. Even the wound is healing--oh-so slowly.  It's a bit smaller than it was two weeks ago, and more and more granulation is visible almost daily.
5. I don't need to see the plastic surgeon again until early October. I hope neither of us suffers from withdrawal in the interim!  ;-)

I’m feeling grateful for this progress, thankful for the tremendous care, concern and support I’ve received along the way, and more ready than ever to turn the page and continue this journey in 5772.

Mixing It Up For 5772

Thanks to Ima on (and off) the Bima for
this pretty "Blog Elul" badge

We’ve been worshipping at Temple Emanu-El in Edison, New Jersey, since children’s services during the High Holy Days in 5733.  That was way back in 1972, when Richard Nixon was in the White House, the Vietnam War raged and we watched it nightly on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, and Roberta Flack’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face was #1 on Billboard’s Year-End Hot 100 chart.

This year, we’re mixing it up just a little bit.

For the first time ever, my father will come into the city on erev Rosh Hashana, we’ll all have dinner together at my sister’s house and then he and I will head uptown to services at Temple Shaaray Tefila, my Jewish community in New York.  A new adventure for us all…

Ten days later, though, we’ll be back to our usual minhag for Kol Nidre, Yom Kippur and, most especially, our annual early afternoon foray to Barnes and Noble.  Here’s how that tradition got started and here and here are recaps of our browsing adventures in subsequent years.

What are you planning to do to mix up the High Holy Days this year?

Blogging Elul

Photo:  midrash.org

Today is the first of Elul, the beginning of the month that precedes the High Holy Days.  Traditionally it is a time of introspection, reflection, preparation, and, for some, a prompt to blog daily or nearly so.

You can check out some of these daily blogs here and here.   And, don’t forget The Jewels of Elul, which isn’t a blog, but does provide lots of food for thought during this special time of year.

Me?  No, I’ve got quite enough on my plate at the moment, thanks.  If I were to blog Elul, though, I’d definitely rerun this post from 2008 whose lesson is as timely today as it was back then.

Good luck to the Elul bloggers out there and happy reading to the rest of us!

A Winning Combination: People, Blessings and Pleasures

Three years ago today, three friends and I spent the day at Coney Island.  I remember the exact date because while we waited in line to order Nathan’s famous hot dogs, we sang “Happy Birthday” to David Berkman over the phone.

Although a lot has changed for me (and for Berkman) in the years since that Coney Island adventure, many things—the important things—remain the same.  I still try to acknowledge and appreciate the many people, blessings and pleasures in my life.  Today these include:

Angela, the visiting nurse who’s already been and gone this morning, leaving me with a well cleaned and dressed wound, as well as reassurance that with time it will heal.

Maryellen, one of the many terrific nurses in the plastic surgeon’s office, who tells me the same thing, answers my endless questions, and wonders why I don’t just move in to the office there at 53rd and Third.

Aunt Claire, who’s headed into New York City for an impromptu visit this afternoon.

My many Facebook friends who, with comments and messages continue to boost my spirits, make me laugh and help my healing.

Countless others who have sent food, flowers and treats, and who continue to accompany me to doctors’ appointments, call, check in, and stop by to visit.

The Dunkin’ Donuts on the southwest corner of 33rd and Second, where many of my recent outings have ended with a medium iced coconut coffee with a lot of milk.  Of course it’s not chicken soup, but it too cures what ails you.

With this incredible team in my corner, I look forward to additional healing in the weeks ahead and to enjoying continued blessings and simple pleasures together with the people in my life.

Facebook: Promoting Connections One Friend at a Time

Rabbi Michael Melchior

I know this will come as a shock to many of you, but this post isn’t about genetic mutations, surgery, recovery, or, indeed, anything medical.  No, it’s about one of my other favorite topics:  Facebook…and the way it promotes connection and community.  Here’s the latest…

Back in early July, distracted and looking for an easy escape from everything on my plate at the moment, I absently began scrolling through my “People You May Know” list on Facebook.  In fact, through my work I was familiar with many of the names and faces, but because I’m a “ghostwriter,” most of these folks don’t know me from Adam, and so I just kept on scrolling.

Until I got to Michael Melchior.  I clicked on “Add Friend” and quickly added this note:

Although we have never met personally, I've heard you speak on several occasions. Most impressive.  Shavua tov. 

In fact, here's what I wrote in my travel journal after hearing Rabbi Melchior speak in Jerusalem during my first visit there in January of 2004:

A quick check-in at the David Citadel Hotel, a change of clothes, a bite to eat in the hotel restaurant and we were off again to hear from MK Michael Melchior.  A Reform Jew trapped in the body of an Orthodox man, he is progressive, passionate and quite the visionary.  Politics aside, he champions the cause of organ donation, explaining that if God can resurrect the dead, surely God can replace an eye or a kidney then. 

Almost immediately, Rabbi Melchior accepted my friend request and just yesterday, sent this follow-up message:

Dear Jane,

Thank you for writing to me, and I'm glad that you have enjoyed some of my talks. Please stay in touch, it's best to reach me at the following email address:
melchioroffice@gmail.com

Best regards,
Rabbi Michael Melchior

Thanks, Rabbi Melchior, for your visionary leadership and your accessibility.  And thanks again, Facebook, for making these connections possible.

If I'm So Swiss, Where's the Chocolate?!

Last week over dinner with a friend, she said, “You’re more Swiss than I am.”  She actually is Swiss, but I knew exactly what she meant.

I’ve been using lists to keep organized for decades.  When I was in elementary school, my mother found a list on my desk that said:  “Things not to worry about.”  By high school, I was keeping a list of the outfit I wore to school each day so as not to repeat one too soon.  Before my last surgery back in December, I wrote this blog post about all the to-do's necessary to prepare for four to six weeks of recuperation. 

As Yogi Berra would say, it’s déjà vu all over again…and I’ve got a list!

Earlier today, my father and my aunt (my mother’s sister, the one who’s going to stay with me when I first come home from the hospital) drove into to the city laden with shopping bags full of “stuff” to help ease my recovery once I'm home:  homemade chicken soup and noodle kugel (each frozen in portion size containers), several packages of Jell-O (not the pre-made kind, but the powdered version that you make at home with boiling water and sliced bananas), marinara sauce, disposable plates, bowls and cups (so we won’t have to wash dishes),  noodles (for noodles and cheese), and miscellaneous other items including bouillon cubes, cereal, canned fruit, pasta and, of course, tuna.  Aunt Claire also brought her suitcase and her shower bench, which she suspects I’ll be glad to use as well.  The last shopping bag was filled with button down oxford shirts and blouses (the wardrobe item of choice following this type of surgery) from my mother’s closet—and, no, we still haven’t finished cleaning it out.  They still smell of her perfume and, in an ironic twist, it will be a comfort to wear them as I heal.

A short while after my father and aunt left, Hiram, the building’s handyman, installed the handheld shower head I bought a few weeks ago, and I crossed that item off my master list as well.

So, here’s what’s left to do – organized by day:

Monday

1. Doctor’s appointment
2. Clean (I mean really clean) my apartment:  dust, vacuum, scrub the tub and toilet, swab the floors, change the linens, do the laundry, and tackle all those other lovely chores I won’t be able to do for a while. Click here to see how it’ll look when I’m finished.

Tuesday

1. Another doctor’s appointment
2. Pay tuition for the fall semester at Baruch College
3. Get underarms waxed (sorry if this is TMI, but thank goodness someone who’s been down this road told me to do it)  Won’t be able to shave for a while.
4. Photocopy short-term disability paperwork from surgeon’s office and send it back to HR at the Union
5. Lunch with a friend
6. Await FreshDirect, which is scheduled to deliver between 2 and 4 p.m.  (The order contains few perishables and no produce since it's just going to sit for a week or so.)
7. Pack a few things (toothbrush, toothpaste, ChapStick, iPod, etc.) for my sister to bring to the hospital on Friday.  They don't let you bring anything with you on the day of surgery.
8. BRCA support group at Mt. Sinai…what wonderful timing!

Wednesday

1. The penultimate doctor’s appointment (How’s that usage Josh Strom?! ;-)))
2. And then the last one
3. Water plants
4. Backup the laptop’s hard drive
5. Open the fold-out couch for Aunt Claire
6. Move the microwave from the top of the fridge to the kitchen counter
7. Await two calls from the hospital:  one from a nurse and one from admissions
8. The last supper
9. Shower with Hibiclens
10. Lailah tov   (Hahaha!)

Thursday

1. Shower with Hibiclens
2. Arrive at the hospital at no o’clock in the morning
3. Tie on the bungee cord and take a huge leap of faith

See you on the other side.

How Lucky We Are: A Redux

Here's what I wrote two years ago on July 4th.  It bears repeating today.

Hope everyone's enjoying their grillin' and chillin' (with thanks to my friend and fellow blogger, Elisa Krantweiss Heisman, from Kvell Corner.  I "lifted" that great phrase from her Facebook status...Thanks, Elisa!)

Happy Fourth!