HOME & FAMILY

For as long as anyone could remember, Judy was running. At school she would participate in the short dash, long run and hurdles. Any opportunity to stretch her legs, and Judy was literally in the run.

The Coat Conundrum
by R. Chadshai

The taxi honked downstairs, near the entrance to the building. Chani's parents, dressed-up, had already gone down and Chani was still hesitating at home. Ima called her on her cell phone, "Chani, where are you?" she asked impatiently. "The taxi's waiting."

Chapter Five, Part II
Challenges/Opportunitiesd
by Sara Glaser

Surgery came and went. I was anxiously waiting, yet at the same time, concerned about learning what the doctors saw, and did, and how I would cope with it all. On the second day, the surgeon came to see me. "I assume you're a religious woman (my hair was always covered so he probably guessed that I was), so you most likely believe in miracles.

The Cats of Jerusalem
by Daniel Neuman

We'll have no catcalls about this article until you read it through and discover its hidden spiritual messages. (Who knows — the cat you `call' might just be a gilgul ...)

It's a Mystery
by Yedidya

I have learned that even if it is your sixth child or your tenth, you don't know it all . . .

KEEP SMILING
by Avrohom Tzvi Schwartz

Heroes

Famous storytellers create heroes everyone can appreciate and admire. Then they place them into amazing, shocking, dangerous scenes — where it seems certain that they will suffer broken limbs, broken hearts, and worse. Finally — once the tension becomes unbearable — they save them from these situations.

Your Medical Questions Answered!
by Joseph B. Leibman, MD

While I have yet not read the New England Journal article on Avian Flu, it is running through the news like wildfire. This flu is specific for birds, but it has spread to humans and of the 117 cases of this type of flu, 60 people have died.

POET'S CORNER

Put on your Imagination Cap and fly above it with these two selections

Let's Rise
by Drora Matlofsky

Let's rise above this . . .
That's what you're supposed to do.

Oh, that's what I am supposed to?
O.K. Now I know.
Let's rise above this.

The children are fighting.
The house is a mess.
The laundry isn't drying.
It's just taking up a lot of room
And making puddles
The children walk right into
And complain their socks are wet
And nobody knows where their shoes are
And they'll be late for school
And Shabbos is coming.

And and and
And I am rising above this.

Like to the top floor?
No. Higher.
Like a helicopter?
That's better.

Say you're in a helicopter
Watching that tiny house.
You are in a plane.
Your house is a speck of dust.

You rise above the clouds,
Above the rain
Where you can see the sun.
Does it feel better?

It does, but what of when they call me
And tug at my sleeves, at my shirt,
Walk on my toes?

I thought I was high above.
How can they walk on my toes?
It doesn't make sense.
How can one be up there and down here?
Or up here and down there?
Up and down, up and down . . .
Don't you get dizzy?

Touch the Sky

by Sara Gutfreund

They sit on the blue swings
First they dangle their feet in the grass
Speaking in whispers to each other
Then they begin to swing
In one motion
Faster and higher
Until their feet touch the outstretched branches of the fig tree

Look Ima, we almost reached the sky, they cry
And I remember a different swing, years ago
A black swing on a playground in a forest
The way the chains of the swing felt cool beneath my hands
And the smell of pine and heat mixing in the air
I can still see the outline of my feet against the navy sky
And there was the freedom of flying, the comfort of rocking in the air

I want to go on the swings again
I want to remember how to reach, how to soar
Now it's my turn, I tell them
But mothers don't go on swings, they insist
This one does, I tell them
And they stand to the side in awe-filled surprise

Go higher, they call
As I begin my climb into the sky
The leaves of the fig tree beckon me
And the soft stillness of the summer afternoon begins to move
The mountains around me seem to climb higher into the sky
I am laughing, my girls are laughing
But my laughter is suddenly a prayer
Help me reach even when I can't see the sky
Help me move higher even when there's no swing to sit on
And help me hear You every day when You whisper
"Go just a little bit higher, you're almost touching the sky"

And a Toldos selection, where we focus on Kibud Ov. Written by H.U. as a chizuk for his elderly, handicapped grandmother who is tended by live-in help "and often feels very depressed . . . "

Thank You, Hashem, for Life

Life is so short,
The days and years seem to be running by
We have gone through much pain and suffering,
And at times, we may ask Hashem — Why?

But no matter what happens,
We must believe that all is for the best
Everything that happens in this world
Is meant to be a test.

If we are strong and meet the challenge,
Our reward will be greater than ever,
For even one second of olom habo
Gives a person the most immeasurable pleasure.

Even if we have physical handicaps,
And there are many things we cannot do,
We must never forget whatever we do have,
And always tell Hashem, "Thank You."

The biggest blessing one can have,
Is to have their mind still working well,
To be able to see, hear and talk,
And just to be able to smell.

We must constantly pray for Moshiach,
When the sick will be healed and the deceased will come back to life,
And the whole world will be a much better place,
With harmony, without strife.

We must also not forget to thank Hashem
For all He has done and given us in the past,
Whether it be a wonderful spouse,
Or children whose love for us will always last.

Nothing should be taken for granted,
We should always appreciate what we were given,
And if we remember how precious life is,
This world will be a much happier place to live in.