What could I write a book about?

The prompt asked the following question: If you could write a book on any topic, what would it be?

This made me think that I am already blogging continuously about my children and all their funnies and quirks. I am sure these blogs could become a book and that parents or parents to be might even find it useful - especially if I would not only describe something that happened , but also researched some related topic and wrote us some tips and advise - or just enjoy comparing my stories with the quirks of their children.
Even when we think our kids are the most adorable and inventive little tykes, turns out some other child already did something similar, and some famous celebrity already wrote a book about this and is making billions...

I also have a marketing blog, in which I write about different topics that have to do with my work as a marketing communications specialist. This too could probably turn into a book, but keeping this as an up-to-date- professional guidance book might prove difficult, because the profession of marketing communications is changing as I type these litters, with the digital media driving it to change in many fast ways.

Another topic I could probably wrote about is the difference between Germany and Israel - as I have lived in both countries and I am an Israeli married to a German - so I live the cultural differences every day. I recall outlining seven topics  - but I am not sure I can recall all seven. Let me see...

 

1. First of all there is space - Germany is just bigger than Israel. Israel is 22,000 square Kilometers, the size of Germany's Hessen state alone. This means everything in Germany is bigger. The Germans have more room.

1.A. Driving and parking - Germany has the famous highway network, which allegedly has no speeding limit - Germans are definitely better drivers, but Israelis are better parkers. I see this issue as a subtext of space perception. In Germany there is just more space to park in. Therefore, there is no need for exceptional parking skills in Germany. The parking problem in Israeli cities is more acute than in German cities (with the possible exception of Berlin). Germans also do not tend to enter the city center with a car, as the train and tram infrastructure is very good. Israelis on the other hand are very adept at parking in the most unconscionable places and very tight spaces.

2. Time and speed - Time is grasped differently in Germany and in Israel. In Israel one is always in a hurry, under pressure. In Germany there is a time and place for everything. We simply do things faster in Israel and even if it means things are less organised, they will work. The chaotic atmosphere is in fact productive and conductive of positive results. Germans take it easy - the pace is slower. When I moved back to Israel after two years in Germany, it took me 3 months to come back to snuff in terms of speed at the workplace.

2.A Infrastructure and improvisation - The infrastructure is better in Germany. For example: trains and buses are organised and actually show on time (OK its not Switzerland, but still, the time-table is mostly adhered to, in most places... I am advised its gotten a lot worse since I lived in Germany). Public transportation in Israel is always late. Sometimes buses come in groups...the drivers must have taken their coffee break together. Or they are racing each other to the last stop, so if one has stopped at a certain location the other race participants do not bother to stop and pick up passengers...

Telephone cables in Israel just hang loosely on the walls, especially in older houses and this makes for a big visual mess. Handymen in Israel are usually people who learned the trade on their feet, from daddy. In Germany everything is more established.

2.B. Education and Certification - The system of educating professionals is more rigid in Germany than in Israel and training takes longer. Its also harder to be accepted to a workplace in Germany, as you need the right certificate. In Israel you may have a chance at a certain job if you make the right impression in an interview and regardless of your training.

3. Order and hierarchy - The Germans have a saying "Ordnung muss sein!" it means order must be! Orderly activity is part of the German cultural DNA. If you follow the instructions you are given, you may predict the result with a high chance of being right. Certain steps will lead to certain results, as expected 1+1=2. Hierarchy is not questioned in Germany , simply obeyed (see next point).

But in Israel there is always room for improvisation. Hierarchy is always questioned and independent thinking is encouraged. "Chutzpah" or cheekiness is part of the Israeli cultural DNA. The writers of the book "start Up Nation" maintain that this cultural DNA in Israel is what nurtures innovation. In Israel there is room for doubt, sometimes 1+1 is not 2 but  rather 2.5. If you were instructed to bring 3 letters, a clerk might just ask for 6. In Germany you need a meeting to cut your hair or even visit a friend, in Israel you just walk through the door.

4. Obedience (and papers) - Germans are an obeying folk. It might seem macabre to write about the Holocaust in such a blog, but I am certain that Hitler and his cronies would have been less successful if the German cultural DNA did not contain a strong component of obedience. Authority is not questioned. If you are told to produce certain documentation, then you must do so (people who do not have the right papers cannot get a job today and back in the days of World War II the right papers could have saved your life!).

5. Noise and Quiet - I already mentioned that there is time and place for everything in Germany. The hours of rest (13.00 to 15.00 on weekdays and Sundays) are a serious matter. You could be evicted from your rented apartment if you use your vacuum cleaner on a Sunday - because of the noise - certain "noise" limitations such as this example are actually included in the renting contract. You do not  hear a lot of noise on the street in Germany. Neighbors' quarrels are such a phenomenon in Germany that there is a TV show about this.

In Israel everything is noisy. Cars are always hooping and people shouting as they call each other on the street. Hebrew is spoken in a louder tone. To a German, two Israelis having a conversation sound as if they are arguing. The only time a German makes more noise than an Israeli is when he or she is drunk!

6. The fun factor, motivation and aspiration - Israelis are an ambitious people. They are willing to take risks and promote themselves and have an attitude of a "know it all". Success is a driving factor, as is financial status and well-being. We live in uncertain times, so we might as well push for the top!

In Germany the biggest motivator is the fun factor. In Germany the word for fun is "spaß". Germans work in order to put aside enough funds so that they can sponsor their hobbies. The free time, the time for fun, after work (Feierabend - a term translating to "an evening for celebration" is the term for after working hours) and on weekends is the reason Germans go to work. Give a German his pension and his hobby and he is content. We live in uncertain times, so we might as well have some fun and enjoy ourselves!

Well, I can write a blog about Germany and Israel and the cultural differences... :-) You can count 6 or 8 different factors (7 is the average...)

A prompt for deep thinking - Do you think there's life after death? How do you think this belief impacts your life today?

I believe I saw an interesting concept in a movie once. the film suggested that what happens to you after death depends on your beliefs. so if you are a viking and believe in Valhalla, you will get there after death. And if you are a Christian and believe in heaven, you will get there. the film took this further by placing a Christian with a group of vikings at the moment of death, resulting in the Christian's ability to save them all. I believe the film is called "Erik the Viking" and it was a comedy.

I think we can also take this concept a step further, by saying that out beliefs regarding death do have an impact on the way we live. After all, our time on this planet as living beings is short and limited. We do not know what happens after death, but we do know people who die do not return, so death seems eternal. (Some believe we return in other forms, or as other people - but never 100% the same - I have not heard of a belief that a person simply returns to the living.)

Though it is natural that we let death affect our lives, it being such a prominent and inevitable  end to this life, we should probably not let it overrule living, that is depressing. One should make the most of life, while it lasts, but first of all for the sake of life itself! Sometimes I think I have wasted parts of my life. But that is not true, all our experiences add to who we are and what we are able to do from now on . Like anyone, I have regrets. certain moments I wish I could go back to and change, do something different. The best way to live is to use this acquired knowledge is to remember it for future use, if a similar moment comes along, I will be able to do things differently. We cannot go back. Looking forward and making the best of it is the way to go.

Earthquake!

I have not written for a week! Its been a whirlwind of work!
The prompts , I am happy to discover, are taking on a more creative writing streak, now that the holiday season is over! yeh!

The prompt was:
First it was slow, then a violent force ran through the house and everything started to shake.  Your first reaction was to...

and I wrote:
Scream! Earthquake!!!!!!!!!!!!

The second thing I did was start running scenarios in my mind, as I mindlessly started looking for the children. What do all the safety experts always say? Hide under the table, stand inside a doorway, leave the building ASAP! Where are the kids??

Everything started crashing down around me. I felt heavy, I could not move! I was trying to run but could not get away! I felt slow, sucked into a terrible new reality. Everything was ruined! the house in shambles! Where ARE the KIDS?????

I call for help and my mouth is dry with dust as debris continues to fall! I cannot see anything! I am stuck in a dark hole, but I am not crushed! The mind begins to ask questions again. Why am I not crushed? what is holding all that cement over my head and not letting it all crash down on me? there is no pain.

I feel as if I am floating away and there is no one in sight, its all a dusty fog! I hear from the distance the voice of my son, muffled and far away..."Mommy wake up! mommy!!!"

I feel that I am being pulled out of my dark hole! Saved! By my own wonderful and brave son! They are here! the rescuers. I am being pulled and shaken about. I feel myself shaking from side to side, just like the last time we had an earthquake here, which woke me up - shaking from side to side, lulled to wakefulness in my bed..."Mommy! Mommy! Wake up!" The voice is clearer and nearer now! I am seeing the light...everything is going to be OK (just like my initials...ha ha)!

And... then I wake up!

Another new day! Kids to school, breakfast to prepare, get dressed! Its cold but the sun is shining!

Like my motto: Everything is going to be OK!

Brain in Hyper-Drive Mode (or a nice way to say that I am not good at relaxing...)

The daily prompt was:
You lay there in bed and toss and turn and can't fall asleep.  All you can think about is..."
After a crazy ending to 2015, I have returned to write again...

I am not a good sleeper. I sleep lightly and awaken almost at every noise.

Sleeping with a partner can be hard is he has a bad night of "the snores"...

Being a mom to young children does not help, I hear them even from the distance between my room and theirs.

So, why can I not sleep well? I think its because my brain is always in overdrive, or should I call is hyper-drive? (Or should I refer to it as warp speed - inspired by Star Wars? Or was it Star Treck? See how my brain works?) I am just thinking and talking to myself non-stop all the time, and this most certainly does not stop at night.

Its not just thinking or mental overdrive, its also physical. Its hard for me to sit in one place if I am not doing something. There is always a "bone to pick" with my apartment and its unruly overflowing and untidy feeling. There is always some cloths to fold, things to organize for the kids, toys to pick up, dishes to wash, a washing machine to start and so on...every evening I can look at the kitchen with satisfaction, having left the sink empty and the counter clean, only to know that tomorrow is a new day with a new mess.

But lets get back to my hyper-drive brain activity: I could be imagining a story and telling it to myself, then sadly not writing it and losing it in the morning.

I could be thinking of a blog post for my online diary about my children or my professional blog, an then I do get up to write it, so I delay sleep and the written version is NEVER as good as the one i had thought of while lying in my warm bed.

I could be imagining a conversation with my husband, well actually a monologue to be honest, my monologue, and then its hard to remind myself that he did not hear what I had said an that the talk had never taken place.

I could be stressing about a task I did not complete or something I need to say to my boss...

Its not always stressful or bad, this overdrive of thoughts, but it always is! and sometimes I just want it to stop so that I can have some piece of mind, literally!

I dream of going off to a 10 day silent meditation course, so that I can learn to clear my mind and finally turn of the hyper-drive mode, but then all my duties sand especially my being a mother to small children all come back flowing and streaming and my thoughts are carried away and the brain returns to its usual hyper-drive state, until the next time I dare to pause for a millisecond to think about meditation again.

I do sometime wonder how is it  that I have not yet totally collapsed into a nervous wreck! Or that I am not the most thin of women, considering how many calories the thinking process allegedly consumes. I guess I consume enough calories (including the left over food from my kids, any dietitian, experienced mom or nutritionist will tell you what a fatal error that is to your waistline...).

My hope is just as crowded as m y brain, so its not easy to get piece and quiet here. We are a family of four and my husband is a collector, so the apartment is overflowing with books, DVDs, children's toys, my clothes, kids clothes for the upcoming 3 years, LP records and to much bed linen...

I think writing is a therapy for me as an outlet to my overworked self and hyper-driven brain. although it means sitting in front of a computer yet again (like I need to do for my work)  it is a relaxing and fulfilling activity. Who knows, I might be a published author one day...

Never give up! Keep writing, it slows down the hyper-drive if only fr a short 15 minutes...

Writing goals for 2016 - and writing dreams in general...

I would like to try and respond daily to the prompts I get from this site.

I would like to re-establish the habit of writing my marketing blog.

I would like to return to writing the blogs about my children.

I would like to write content or my own business site.

I would like to write enough content for m y social media pages, personal and business alike.

I would like to start writing a style tips blog.

I would like to write my memoirs about Germany and hope that I remember enough so that it becomes a funny book about the cultural quirks.

I would like to write my memoirs. period! So that my kids will be able to read them after I die.

Maybe one day "I can become a content icon.

Though probably if I am to write enough content, I need to hire writers...after all economies of scale is what creating a web presence is all about.

Maybe once day I can out some of my blogs and other scribbles into a book form.

I need to find all my idea scribbles, they are scattered about the house is different notebooks and stickies.

I want to just write for fun and for posterity.

Yep! new and old techniques do nicely for me...2016 - here I come, with keyboard, paper and pen!

2016 I will...

New year's resolutions are a  drag...You never really get through them, and then you feel bad. A little bit like the Bridget Johns movie.

But any life coach will tell you that setting goals for yourself is important to take a step forward. Well, I do set goals and I also list tasks and then go methodically through my lists and hack them off when completed. So I guess I am doing ok.

So I guess that if I am to target something for the new year and the whole year it would be in a more generic level in my life.

In 2016 will see more of my kids and not work into the night.

In 2016 I will try to get more positive energies into my life

In 2016 I will have found what it is that I am searching for.

Now I just need to break these goals into baby step plans, so I can tick off every task accomplished on the way to the great goal. Just like a good strategy coach does. :-)

Happy new year

Ofra

Things that I am grateful for - a holiday season spirit blog

I am always trying to teach my children to think positive. We talk about positive energies, saying "yes" instead of "no" (there is a book for children here about a teddy bear that always says "no, no" and what happens to him...) so this prompt is just right there with the list of things to discuss.

In the spirit of Christmas this prompt gets even more extra meaning, as the holiday is all about recognizing the richness one has and thus being able to give to others. Richness is not always about money, as is giving or generosity = the currency here can be so varied. Good deeds are conducted in many ways.

So what am I grateful for? All the good people and things in my life,  and all my experiences (even the one's that are not so enjoyable as they occur) that make my life a richer one.

First and foremost I am grateful for my two adorable children, who have created a totally new and overwhelming identity in my life, in fact overtaking any other identities, as I am now a mother! My children's friends recognize me as "XXX's mom", they do not always know my name. In the Arabic world a man get to be names after his first born son. I love it that I am named after my children, who are my greatest achievements!

I am grateful to my husband who tolerates me and lives with all my quirks, I can only wish to be more forgiving toward his quirks.

I am grateful for a loving and supporting family and for loyal amazing friends who have been with me for years.

I am grateful that I am living in a modern era that enables quick and international communication, and that fills life with interesting possibilities. After all, my current profession did not really exist 15 years ago and I grew and developed as  my profession grew and developed. I am grateful for innovations and technology that makes my life more convenient and that can help save lives.

This post makes me feel like a writer who is writing the thank you notes for a book. Well I have not yet written a book, but I do my best to write the daily prompt here - I am grateful for this tool and the opportunity it gives me to write.

Merry Christmas

Ofra

Are you happy with your current work?

Its all still too new, even after almost a year, to say that I am happy. So much changes in recent months have all made it a bit hard to digest, but its all for the best , I believe

Its all still in the making. the transition from hired employee to freelancer is  not simple.

In many ways I am still a hired employee. I go to the office and need to deliver at certain times, but I no longer have the salary rather I need to submit an invoice.

The disadvantages:

I have more than one client, so I have more than one boss.

Everything in the business depends on me, so if I am sick, I do not get paid and the work does not get done.

I am limited as to how much work I can take on, the business is not yet stable enough to take on an employee.

The advantages:

I work mostly from home and my hours are more flexible.

I can be near my kids and not in a remote office all day.

I get some tax benefits because I now submit invoices (e.g. deduct home expenses to some extent).

I can raise my hourly wage.

I can work from anywhere! A laptop, Wifi Internet and a power extension is all I need.



I am still at the beginning of a log road. Its a wide wide way...

Ofra

Circles of plenty

Like a hand full of currents, I have many blessings in life. the currants are like little circles, circles of plenty...

The original prompt was: "What are you missing in your life today? "

Considering that its 01.18 at night here, I am probably missing sleep.

I could also use a few more hours a day to get everything I want done finished.

I miss more time with my kids.

I miss flexibility in time management, I juggle kids, school, work and its just exhausting!

I miss having free time - a mother an a wife rarely has time to herself.

I miss my friends, its been ages since I had the opportunity to get together.

I guess a larger income can never hurt.

But why dwell on what i am missing in life, when I can count my blessings?

For an enhanced quality of life, well-being and happiness, I am trying to stay positive. Its not always an easy lesson to learn for a grumbler like myself... But as I demand my son to always think positive, about what he has gained and not the TV hours he has not had the time to watch... I remind myself that I too, should dwell on what is plentiful in my life. Its just a happier state of mind! It really works!

so here we go again..."circles of plenty" approach this time...

Considering that its 01.18 at night here, I am probably missing sleep.

YES, BUT I ENJOY THIS WRITING EXERCISE, SO TS WAS WORTH STAYING UP

I could also use a few more hours a day to get everything I want done finished.

TRUE, BUT SOME THINGS CAN WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW. ITS JUST WORK OR HOUSEWORK, NO NUCLEAR BOMB GOING OFF OR ANYTHING SO DESPERATELY URGENT!

I miss more time with my kids.

YES, BUT ITS JUST GREAT TO HAVE THEM AROUND.

I miss flexibility in time management, I juggle kids, school, work and its just exhausting!

YES, BUT I AM NEVER BOARD.

I miss having free time - a mother an a wife rarely has time to herself.

YEH, EVERYONE WANTS A PIECE OF ME...COULD NOT HELP THIS ONE BEING A BIT N THE GRUMBLE SIDE, BUT HEY, THINK WHAT A COMPLIMENT THAT IS...

I miss my friends, its been ages since I had the opportunity to get together.

TRUE, BUT I TALKED TO TWO OF THEM ON THE PHONE THIS WEEK AND WE SMS ALWAYS, MODERN TECHNOLOGY GOES A LONG WAY TO KEEP US BUSY BUSY BEES IN TOUCH.

I guess a larger income can never hurt.

YUP! BUT I AM NOT STARVING EITHER , THANK GOD!

All is well in my world and writing this has just made my smile a bit bigger - its really works! proportion in good for the soul.

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite...

Ofra

Describe your bedroom. What makes it special? What would you like to change/add?

This is the post that got me to aggregate my prompt responses also to a blog format.
I realized that is some random way, I am writing my personal experiences, opinions and feelings  = that means I am writing my memoirs. So I wanted this to be on an online diary format I can access at any time...for posterity...for my kids...

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Describe your bedroom. What makes it special? What would you like to change/add?

(actually this is NOT my bedroom...)

My bedroom is not so special. Like many such rooms, it contains a double bed for my husband and myself, a cupboard fr our clothes, divided into "his" and "hers" and two counters on both sides of the bed - but the counters are not matching.

What makes it special is that the bed is actually  constricted from two skeletons of single beds (actually my childhood bed and that of my sister) with extensions - an improvisation that has enabled me to move the bed from one apartment to another with ease. They just do not make them this way anymore..the materials are good and the structure strong, so I saw no reason to change. the mattress is new of course...

Another interesting feature is that the room leads to a balcony, which I enjoy using in the spring and summer months. Last year my son started sharing this joy and announced that the balcony makes him feel like he is on a summer holiday/vacation. The sunset is nice from the balcony.

The two bed-side counter do not match. One is made of two Ikea stools piled one on top of another - to get the right height but keep stable. The other counter is a relic from my teen years, a set of drawers I repainted since.

On the wall there are a few pictures of the family - its been growing as the family grows. A thank you card we got during the 2nd Lebanon war from a family we let stay in our home after they could not stay in theirs on the border, and an African carpet. But the featured pictures are two portraits of myself, from my molding years, drawn by an anonymous American Painter.

Every night, as my children prefer to fall asleep in my bed, "because ts warm and large and we can all cuddle together" says my son, then my bedroom becomes extra special.

That is, until I move the kids to their own beds, so that I to can get some sleep.

Good night


Ofra

Talk about your thoughts on climate change.

Climate change evangelists are worried about the poles and ice melting, I am just hot and sweating here...on the tip of desert land.

The climate here is not changing...its always hot and humid.

Actually it is changing, for the worse. I do not recall it being this hot and humid when I was a child...

Winter starts later (only in December these days) than when I was a child (then the drop in temperature came in November)

There are only 2.5 months of Winter here and the its Spring, during which, one could say that the temperature is relatively pleasant because the sun is shining and one is not sweating so much.

But in May the heat is on and one starts to sweat.

From July to September, the weather is intolerable, its not the tropics here, but it sure feel like it... As a child I do not recall it being this bad and it only lasted until August.

Climate change and global warming are real! I feel it every year as the days get warmer and more humid and my shirt sticks to my back and there is nothing I can do about it as long as I am outside.

I thin every person should do their little bit to help slow down global warming. Save energy, recycle, whatever opportunity knocks, we should take it!

Baby steps is the key! if everyone does something small in their daily routine, the impact can be great. Its like the motion of a butterfly's wings which can cause a hurricane... Just do something, that fits nicely into your life so that you can adopt it as a habit. this will guarantee that you continue to contribute to this effort in the long run.

Protect mother earth

Ofra

Talk about love. Where do you feel it most these days?

My kids are always drawing hearts for me and giving me notes and tokens of affection..

Pixabay.com just got it right in this image

I am usually not very sentimental, I have never really fallen in love, but I rather build on a slow relationship...This includes my relationship to my husband, who claims to have fallen in love with me at first site. sometimes I envy him this experience, all the more so because the feeling has lasted for 12 years since...and still going strong.

My children are making me feel love, especially when they re asleep..oh! I am not trying to be a cynical parent, the kind who says kids are at their best in sleep. No, all I am saying is that during the day we are often too busy working, cooking, cleaning and parenting to take a moment to just feel the love. When the kids are asleep and I come in one more time to kiss them good night (as I do every night) then I get to see those sweet faces and I fall in love! Yes, even I do so! And then in the quiet dark room I can enjoy the widening of my  heart in peace and make the most of it.

The exception during the day is hearing my kids laughing at play. The sound of pure joy is the kind that just has to put a smile on your face and widen your heart, no matter what you are doing at the time.

Its the season of family holidays. We should take the time , what with all the shopping, cleaning and cooking to just enjoy a free evening with our children and family members.

have fun!

Ofra

If you could have lived in a previous era, which era would it have been? Why?

Moritz is not in England, but the castle is the general idea...

I guess I would choose Regency England if I really had to choose another era. Its a great era to read about, and the writings of Jane Austen and her counterparts demonstrates that women were given some freedom to become thinking creatures. But one must not forget that until very recently, women enjoyed very little freedom and in some areas of the world they still do not!

Also one must not forget that Austen came from a relatively privileged family - Although her father was "only a clergywoman, he was a gentleman - which means he came from the top tier of English society, and even if the Austen family did not have it easy and were not  millionaires, they certainly never needed know hunger.

In the modern era, classes and stations have become much more varied and even a simple person, who has a job and good sense to laying some money aside, can live a good and peaceful life. We enjoy many freedoms, including writing on the web for platforms like this one. No one stops me from writing and saying whatever is on my mind.

I think we are living in the best time yet, and I can only hope that this improvement will continue into the future, even after my lifetime (at least my children will be able to enjoy it).

Wishing you a best present day,

Ofra

Some more holiday season spirit - What's one gift you'd love to receive this year?

My son want's a computer

My husband wants to win the lottery

My daughter is happy whenever she gets new dolls

But what do I want? its a hard one...

I am not into getting stuff becasue its alsways a hassle to store it all. Every year during the holiday season you get all these dishes and nick nacks that you just do not need...but its a gift from people you love, so you keep it...but then there is not enough room for all this stuff!

My home is already over flowing, as I believ are many homes in this modern day and age. We are a consuming society and as prices become lower, we consume and stack  more and more.

This is why I try to give gifts that are consumable. I thikn getting a box of candy is better than getting a new decorative vase. The candy can be consumed - eaten and enjoyed, andthen its out o fthe way.

If you do not want  the sugar and the fats, then get someone a jar of nuts. Or better yet, invitethem for a nice breakfast  - your treat - as a gift. This way you also get to spend som time together. You can also decide to treat them to a hiarcut - this way nothing needs to be eaten...

I think that the gift I would like to receive this year would be a day off, and maybe a nice massage. this is the best gift one can buy a mother of two relatively young children....

Happy holidays,

Ofra

Talk about the holidays. What do you look forward to most? Anything you dread?

Nuts are a Hanukkah Traditional Gift

Holidays in any country can be happy yet stressful times. The holidays bring with them much joy and food and family but also perhaps a little to much of the food and the family...this is where differences start surfacing. December in Israel is a season of three holidays that come from the three monotheistic religions. We have the Jewish Hanukkah that most people here celebrate, and which is also commemorated in schools and kindergartens. We have Christmas, which turns Jerusalem and Nasereth upside down for two days and we have the Islamic Ramadan that comes in some years during the winter. All these holidays are celebrated together in the city of Haifa. During December, in the weekends there is a food festival and many other events all over the city.

I personally celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas, so my kids get an extra dose of Chocolate. We have everything double. Candles, doughnuts, latkes, presents, a decorated tree etc. The kids love it! Days off at school turn my schedule into a logistic challenge and then there is also the dread of not finding the right gift for each person in the family. To top it all off, my son's birthday is at the end of November and my niece at the beginning of December, so there is always a bit of a struggle when each child will  get their special day to celebrate with family and another for friends, and all this in between all the other celebrations.

I am grateful that the children enjoy all the festivities , but I sometimes feel overwhelmed by it all. Thank god the double celebration is only in our household and not the entire family. In all the logistics and sweetmeats its easy to forget that this is the season of forgiveness, kindness, giving and generosity. I try to make a point to discuss these issues with my children, and stress that good doing is not bound by religion or by a certain holiday.

Wishing you all a happy holiday Season

Ofra

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This one was selected t be a featured response

What would you perfect morning be like?

My perfect morning is a weekend morning or a morning of a day off, in which I wake up to the small and warm hands of my daughter or son, who have woken up and decided to join my husband and me in our bed, and I have time to cuddle with both children and keep all warm.

Its just a great feeling of love and family, and the fact that there is no hurry, no need to get to school or work on time, gives me a chance to true enjoy all this love. We can even read a book or watch a video together, something that the children love to do!

Then finally we get up to a nice sunny day in early Spring (its important that its not too warm or humid yet...definitely early Spring time) and go out as a family to eat breakfast in a coffee house nearby. The short walk gives us all a chance to stretch out and move about, and the breakfast out of the house saves me all the dishes that would usually be involved in a meal.

To top it all off, we all go for a longer walk in the park around the corner, which boasts a playground for the children and benches in the sun for the parents. The children play and run and my husband and I can enjoy some quality time and conversation. In a perfect morning, I am able to pay my husband attention and not always chase after the playing children. and yet, when they invite me to play with them, I do so eagerly and with great joy!

Good morning to every one.

Ofra