Help for Parents During Rocket Attacks in Israel

mother comforts sleeping child

I've been catching up after my trip and am still absorbing the fact that Israel is at war again in the south. My sons, who have finished their army service, have not been called up for reserve duty. We've talked within the family about what to do in case of a warning siren. We've heard some booms from the direction of Tel Aviv. So my life has been relatively unaffected, as much as possible in this small country. I'm glad to be able to keep things together on the home front. But my heart goes out to those whose families are on the front lines, especially those who care for small children or an elderly or disabled person. I remember how traumatized I felt during the Scud attacks on the … [Read more...]

Fleas Are Worse than Bombs

Flea-Infested Junk

The city assigns each street a designated day for leaving out large items  for pickup. Yesterday, I put out a stroller, in the hope that someone would find it and use it. When a friend emailed that she wanted it, I went down to retrieve it. While there, I met a neighbor from across the street. He identified the pile above as the contents of his building's bomb shelter. The clothes and mattresses had become infested with fleas that spread to the whole building. The fleas, and not the security situation, forced them to prepare the shelter in case of war. This inspired me to write up a notice for my own building. No doubt our shelter looks like theirs used to. I left  space for the … [Read more...]