Jewish Musings, Tues., April 4,

[gazelle18]

Hi everyone,

sorry, I cannot use our regular opening paragraph; I'm computerless at the moment. 

I hope ole everyone is ok. Louise, how did the meeting go?


One of my favorite parts of the Passover story is  when the fleeing Israelites come to the Red Sea, and are of course afraid to try to cross it. One brave guy, Nachshon, takes the proverbial leap of faith. Have you ever done something you'd consider truly "brave "? 

I once got up the nerve to argue a civil rights case involving the New Orleans Police Dept., in front of the US fifth circuit court of appeals, where all 9 of the Judges were sitting. I was 9 months pregnant. I am pretty sure I was a nervous wreck but it's hard to remember....

any brave moments in your past?

[brgmsn]

Good morning everyone. Just stopping in to say hello and wish everyone well.
I got laid off about 19 years ago. From a hospital. They closed our unit. I had to get out in the workforce, go back to school, obtained both my BSN and MSN, and started 2 entirely new careers. At age 40. Probably the scariest thing I've had to do. And I survived. And thrived.
I think, looking back, the roadblocks we put up are of our own making. Mine were, anyway

[lee058]

Good morning everybody. Hope you are all well. I actually slept last night from 9PM straight through until 4AM! I haven't had seven hours of uninterrupted sleep in a row for so long that I can't remember the last time. I did have to use the ice pack when I woke up, but there's a big difference between that and waking up in the middle of the night because of pain. This gives me hope that it will be easier than I dreaded to stop taking the pain meds; I only have three pills left, which means that Thursday will be my last night taking one. Thank goodness the pain has lessened since I got the shot in my shoulder, and I was able to taper off the meds gradually then! You have been a tremendous support for me during this difficult time, and I appreciate it VERY much. Thank you again.

As for being brave: I think that for me, when I have had something difficult to do, I have mostly just muddled through, one way or another. Sometimes I have recognized at the time that I was being brave, and told myself that I just had to do whatever it was; other times, other people have told me that they thought I was being brave; still other times, I have recognized it after the fact. I have not so much been The Little Engine That Could as The Little Engine That Was Dragged Kicking And Screaming (!!), but I have gotten some things done that I didn't think I could. A lot of them involved my having patience and faith that the circumstances would improve, but that I had to hold on and keep on doing whatever was necessary. It's harder, I think, to keep on with a situation that goes on for a long time and has one thing after another happen (even though the individual things may not be huge, they add up) than to deal with a one-time catastrophe. On the other hand, the one-time crises may be a lot more dramatic and feel worse at the time; for example, when I have had to make fast important decisions that will have lasting effects on my future.

Right now, I am very glad that it looks like I may be able to escape having to be brave about my shoulder needing surgery, since I have improved so much since having the shot. Of course, I won't know until after I see the orthopedic doctor again in May and he sees if I have progressed enough, but he said that if the shot was going to work for me, I would see improvements in a week or two from getting it. Today, it has been a week and a day, and I do feel a lot better. It is a blessing, and I hope for the best.

I'll be back later. Have a peaceful day, Lee

[hollygail]

Two things stand out. One was when I was an undergrad. The students who were either English majors or Ed majors organized a gathering (protest??? demonstration, maybe was the word they used) when a particular instructor (who had not yet received tenure) was not rehired for the following semester. This instructor was intensely popular with the students (I didn't know the instructor, and probably didn't personally know anyone who did). My friend Andy (with whom I'm still in touch, although not as closely as in some years since then) and I went to the demonstration on the steps of the Paul Klapper Library (how's that for memory of a brave moment!). They gathered and then started to disperse. Andy said something to me like we can't let such a great opportunity just dissipate! So he got everyone's attention and I spoke. To this day I have zero recollection of what I said. But I rallied all those students together! I imagine I talked about the unfairness of institutional governing and may have attempted to draw a parallel with the US government and the war in Vietnam, but I freely admit I was so "not in my head" that I really don't remember what I said...

The other time that comes to mind: Once upon a time, in my late 20s, I was the supervisor in one department of a large company (part of Corporate America) and the woman whose desk was in front of mine (the supervisors all sat in back of their employees) and with whom I had become friends outside of work (she's the one who introduced me to my then boyfriend) turned around, put her arm on my desk, and told me she was going to leave. I said something like, "as your supervisor, I have to ask you for two-week's notice" (she didn't know just when she was going to leave) "and as your friend, I want to ask what you're going to do" or words to that effect. She didn't know. I asked if she'd ever thought of going to Europe; she smiled and told me she hadn't. I said, "You know, Kathy, if you don't go now, you'll probably never go..." Months later, that same line haunted me when I was thinking of leaving that job. I sent my 5 1/2-year-old off to his father, packed or sold or gave away everything I owned, and bought a one-way ticket to Amsterdam. At the time, Amsterdam had a very high unemployment rate (and there was a hierarchy for employment: first choice was a Dutch national, second was someone from the Common Market [as it was called at the time], and only third were foreigners, which I was). On top of that, there was a waiting list for housing. And on top of that, Amsterdam had the largest gay population in the world. Within two weeks, I had a legal job, a place to live and a heterosexual boyfriend. So even though I left everything I knew behind (note: in addition to English, I spoke French, Spanish and Italian, but didn't fly to any country where those were the languages; AND I knew zero people in Holland), and was somewhat scared as well as apprehensive and everything that goes with that set of feelings, I came out of it so much the richer for it! (side note: I left the US with $400 in traveler's checks and came back over a year later with $200 of the original set...)

[happysavta]

Hmm, what have I done that is brave? My life is so average that I really can't think of any examples of bravery. Plus the fact is that I'm quite a coward, always fearing that the sky is about to fall. As Lee said, when there are challenges and difficulties, I just muddle through until I'm on the other side of the problem.

Chaverot, I went to see a movie called "The Zookeeper's Wife". It's a story about bravery. And it was a beautiful movie, beautifully done, beautifully acted.

[louise]

I don't think of myself as brave. When I had to do a press okay in Tokyo I was a little freaked out when I landed - no one to meet me. Went through the airport singing "Adonai li v'lo iyra" to myself (God is with me, I shall not fear). And the first night I came out of the subway station at a different staircase and couldn't find my hotel - couldn't read any of the signs. It all worked out but it was a little harrowing at the beginning. When I wasn't with a person from the printing plant who would order for me I kept(more or less) kosher by eating pizza and green tea ice cream. - never risked ordering anything else on my own.

I felt a little brave, or perhaps daring would be a better word for it, when I sent out that job application Sunday night. Would love to re-write it now, but, for better or worse that ship sailed. I really want to hear back from that job - it's been two days - is that a lot or a little? I feel if I could an interview I could sell myself (this is an EA job and I have no EA experience). They may not deal with this until after Pesach or at least after the first two days of yom tov. They refer to themselves as "post-denominational".

The meeting about office space yesterday was interesting - we have to give up all of the offices except one by June 1. The remaining office will be set up with a few work stations + our mailroom supplies + our library. The boss wants us to work remotely. We can reserve conference rooms as needed when we need to get together. I'm not going to think too much about this until after Pesach.

In my fridge I got the bottom shelf with the drawers cleaned over the weekend - big accomplishment. I plan to bring the boxes up from the basement tonight. Tomorrow night I will tackle the stove. Sunday will be kashering at the synagogue. Had to get the catering order in today for the community seder.

Just breathe.

[louise]

Oh dear, I just got an email asking me for a 30 minute phone interview this week. This is about the EA job. My head is spinning.

[peachymom1]

This may sound ordinary, but DH and I took a leap of faith when we decided to become parents. I became pregnant completely unexpectedly, and five years ahead of schedule. We had no money, I'd just left a job I hated, DH hadn't finished his degree, and we had no idea what we were doing. One of my sisters did her best to convince me to give up the baby, and the rest of the family heartily disapproved of us having a baby. But we couldn't bear the idea of terminating the pregnancy or giving up the baby. We were married, we were happy, and we figured we'd just manage the best we could. We didn't give two figs about what our families thought, and we went right ahead.

One of the best things I've found about growing older is looking back at what I did right. Once we made the decision to have the baby, we never looked back and never regretted it for one instant. We had our challenges, for sure, but every parent does. When I think about people who had children after becoming more financially stable and more established in their careers, I realize they are no better parents than we are, no wiser, no happier, no anything of any consequence.

And later this year, we will lead our firstborn to the wedding canopy. Here's to leaps of faith!