Day Trips to Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood

19 Aug

Soon after I married Mt. St. Helens began to awaken. Two months later the volcano’s explosive eruption was international news.  I remember picture after picture of the eruption, the area around the volcano and the loss of life so well.  Although in my life, my marriage was the most important event of 1980, I knew for everyone else it was the sight of Mt. St. Helen’s eruption.

Each anniversary for this tragic day, I think back to my friends who were married in Washington state just a few days after the devastation.  Although they lived closer to Spokane, and were not impacted by the actual eruption, the smoke and ash did make the trip and changed the atmosphere of their wedding.  I wish I could have been there to see their wedding and the ash!  But I could not.

This event has been etched in my mind! I had to see for myself what Mt. St. Helens looks like now.  In June I finally had that chance. 

Mt. St. Helen’s
Before the blast
After the blast

Before a cruise we were taking along the Columbia and Snake River, my husband and I took a tour up to Mt. St. Helens. We were supposed to go to the Johnston Ridge Observatory, where the volcanologist, Davide Johnston, died. Unfortunately, there was a mudslide a few days before our trip. Instead we went to the Elk Overlook and then to The Weyerhaeuser’s Charles W. Bingham Forest Learning Center, then to the Mt. St. Helen’s Visitors Center operated by the National Park Service.

Seeing the volcano, even from a distance, was stunning.  You can see clearly where the side of the mountain blew out!  At the learning center, there are photos of the area before and after the blast.  It is amazing how the logging company has planted millions of trees and changed the look of the area.  Within the national park site. Nothing has been planted by man. All the new growth was by nature alone.

The Cascades are amazing.  The Douglas Fir trees and Giant Sequoias meet all expectations!

After seeing Mt. St. Helens, it seemed apropos to also go to see her sister volcano, Mount Hood. It has been dormant since 1866, but it is still monitored in case it decides to wake up.  Tourists can get much closer to Mt. Hood. In fact, people can walk a trail to the top.  We did not do that, but we did walk part of the trail.  There was snow so I was glad I had a jacket.

Entrance to the Lodge
Amazing Art on the front door.
The Fireplace and Hexagon room
Mt. St Hood. It also blasted out from the side in 1866.

We started our visit there at the lovely Timberline Lodge, which was built in the 1930s during the Great Depression.  The giant timbers used to make the hexagon lobby are impressive.  There are many lovely carvings and other artworks throughout that make it a great place to visit. 

From the lodge there are many wonderful views of the volcano as well as the start of the walking trails up the mountain and around it. 

It is an active hotel and ski resort.  I would love to be there as an overnight guest. We ate lunch in the dining room and the food was delicious.

If you are in area of Portland, Oregon, or Vancouver, Washington, taking trips to these two volcanos would be great.  Besides seeing the mountains, we also visited the Rose Gardens in Portland, a stop that any rose lover should not miss.  There were thousands upon thousands of magnificent roses.  We visited the roses on the way to Mt. St. Helens.  Before we went up to Mt. Hood, we spent some time walking the trails and seeing the 611-foot high, Multnomah Falls. Also a lovely place to visit.

These two days were among the highlights of our trip!

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Technology Equals No Division

17 Jul

I had the most pleasant dinner with my husband and siblings in a restaurant in Montclair, NJ. The food, fish for all of us and ice cream and sorbet for dessert was delightful. We chatted and ate and visited and finally were ready to leave.

I have to admit that perhaps we asked for too much. We wanted to divide the check so that my husband and I paid half and my siblings each paid a quarter of the bill. The waitress said it was fine. And so we gave her three credit cards and waited. And waited. And waited. I should have known something was not working out.

Our bill for four people was $129.02. She came back with my credit card and a receipt for $86. She then was going to divide the $43.02 between my siblings. I was astounded that she did not even realize that this was not divided in HALF. It was two-thirds and a third, but definitely not half. $86 and $43 are NOT equal!

I went up with my receipts to speak to her while she was running the other cards. I politely said, “Wait. This is not right. $86 Is not half of $129.02.”

She was not convinced. “Are you sure? I have to get my manager,” she told me as she hustled away with a dazed look on her face.

A few minutes later the manager came. “How cam I help? ” He was pleasant.

“This is wrong. $86 is not half of $129.02. ” I told him. I was sure he would understand. But no such luck. “You asked for half on one card and the rest divided between those two!” He told me.

“Yes half. $86 is not half of $129.02. Half of $130 is $65. This is wrong.” I started doing the math, the division on a piece of paper. I showed him the math. But that was not what he needed. I offered to show him on my phone calculator. But no. He had a calculator that he pulled out.

He typed in 1292. No I said. You need a decimal. It is 129.02. He might have been anxious at this point. I noticed my siblings laughing and looking at me. I was getting exasperated. And I now was in teacher mode. I had taught at a high school. There is a definite teacher voice and look that can come over me.

In any case he correctly typed in 129.02 and divided by 2. 64.51 was the number it read. “You are right,” he admitted. “I am sorry. I will fix it. ”

I wanted to make it easy. I wanted him to credit my sister’s account and just put the rest on my card, the other $43.02. We would sort it out later. But that was too much as well. He ended up crediting my account and my sister’s. He ran a new receipt putting all the money on mine. I paid , added tip and we settled up.

My siblings laughed all the way to the car. They knew I was frustrated, they told me that the look of our mother came over me as I tried to explain the math to the manager. Mom taught fourth grade for 30 years.

“I just can’t understand how the waitress and the manager did not see that $86 was not half. $43 and $86 are not equal. Did they not understand half, divide by two,” I was still frustrated.

I was concerned that they did not believe my division that I did on paper. They would only believe a calculator. I felt like I was in a science fiction novel that I had read years ago where a boy who could do math in his head was considered a genius because everyone else HAD to use a calculator!

I am worried Technology is destroying the ability to calculate math in our brains.

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Smart Phones Are Getting Just A Little Too Spooky For Me

15 Jul

High tech keeps changing.  To me becoming more and more intrusive into our lives.  Personally, I have never had allowed an Alexa in my home.  And although we have a smart doorbell with surveillance cameras, all of our cameras are outside.  There is nothing watching inside. To me that would be an invasion of privacy.  We now know that sometimes the information that these devices listen to is saved.  YUCK.

I do know that our smart phones can track us and know where we are. That does not bother me because I turned tracking off in my phone except when using certain apps. I even have my Siri turned off. But now my opinion about smart phones is changing.  These devices know more than what we think! 

My husband purchased a new car that arrived in late December. His new all electric Chevy Bolt replaces the Chevy Volt, hybrid plug-in, he drove for 11 years.  His new car does not have a separate navigation system, instead it uses his IPhone for the guidance. To me this has become an eye-opening experience.

The first time I knew something different with the navigation is when I got into the car to go to a friend’s home.  We go there once a week because I take a yoga class my friend teaches, while our husbands visit. But it was still surprising when my husband pointed out the map on the car’s screen.  The map popped up with a route already highlighted to their home.

“Wow! Look at that,” my husband announced. “The car knows where we are going!”  I was spooked.  How would the car know! My husband edited his remarks.  Well, it is my phone that knows because we go there once a week.  He obviously has tracking turned on for his phone.

I understand the concept of continuous tracking.  But still having the route already programed on the car’s navigation made my hair rise.

“What if you don’t plan to go there today?  Then what do you do,” I asked.  “Will the car let you change your destination?  Or is the car and your phone in charge.”

We both laughed.  But I was serious. Would the car let him change the destination.  I don’t know because he did not try.

On another day, when I went with him to our weekly Weight Watchers meeting, there it was: the route to Weight Watchers was highlighted.  Again, no big deal according to my husband.  His phone knew he went there weekly.   It still sent a little shiver through me.  I do not want my phone to know where I go each day! I like having my own personal space that even my phone should not register.

However, now I am not so sure that this is even a joke or ok or even acceptable because of what happened this week.  My husband and I made a condolence call/shiva visit to the home of someone we both really liked and care about.  We had never been to his home before.  After typing in the address, the navigation gave us great directions to his home.  We paid our respects. Stayed for the service and then got back into the car to head home.

As I explained we have never been to that house before and rarely go to that side of town.  Thus what happened next was just a little too spooky for me.  

As we turned on to the main road that would take us the six miles to our home, the navigation system changed.  Instead of the directions to take us home, it was now taking us to Cold Stone Creamery, my husband’s favorite ice cream store.  The only problem was it wasn’t taking us to the Cold Stone Creamery near our home.  No!  It is directing us to a Cold Stone Creamery we had never been to before, but it was very close to where we were driving.

My husband was amazed.  “Look at that!  It wants us to go for an ice cream My phone knows I am upset and wants to cheer me up! There is a Cold Stone Creamery here!”

Wait. That is not okay.  We did not type in Cold Stone Creamery.  We did not ask Siri.  We did not mention it.  We were just heading home.  And on its own volition, my husband’s phone put in a route to an ice cream store.

JUST WOW!

“So if the phone GPS wanted you to drive into a lake, would you do it?” was the thought that came into my mind.” But I did not say it.  What I did say is, “Let’s go home. We really do not need ice cream.” (I was trying to keep to our WW plan.)

I was wrong.  The thought was now in my husband’s mind.  He needed ice cream.  It would cheer him up after a sad moment paying his respects to the widow and family.  We followed the navigation system and had a delicious treat before the car’s navigation posted the directions home.

I have been thinking about this experience for several days now, trying to understand what happened.  I think I do now.  My husband does go to Cold Stone Creamery at two other locations. I guess his phone would be aware of that.  The Cold Stone Creamery his phone directed us to is right next door to the Apple Store, a store we have visited twice in the last year.  Could that be why the phone changed the navigation?  But then wouldn’t have wanted the Apple Store? Or perhaps my husband is eating more ice cream than I am aware of? 

It doesn’t matter.  I am still stunned into disbelief that after a shiva call the car and phone directed my husband to get ice cream, the one thing that would really cheer him up after a sad moment.  Phones know us more than we are aware, and that is very spooky.  A bit too Spooky for me.

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The Mystery of Marjorie: Missed Opportunity Realized a Bit Too Late

13 Jul

Sometimes serendipity does not go the way you want it to go!

Over 20 years ago, a woman called our home and left a message.  My husband’s father had passed away, and the obituary mentioned his mother’s name as well.  She had died 20 years before at the young age of 59 from cancer.  The caller said that she had grown up with my mother-in-law in Leavenworth, Kansas, and really wanted to speak to my husband about his Mom.

My father-in- law died on September 1, 2001.  Ten days later was 9/11.  The message got deleted and forgotten for quite a while.  Life seemed so bizarre in the days and months following the terrorist attack. With most of my family in the New York City area, I was suffering with the rest of the country in a state of shock.  My father-in-law’s death faded into the background. But we were feeling the emotions of that loss as well as the loss of security we all felt in the USA.

Sometime after the initial phone call, I remembered the call.  I told my husband that someone named Marjorie had called about his Mom.  I no longer had the phone number or the message.  But I knew that somewhere in our Kansas City Jewish community this person existed.  And then it faded away again. But every once in a while, if I met an older woman named Marjorie I would ask if she grew up in Leavenworth.

A month ago a friend’s mother passed away.  Although I am friends with this woman, I did not know her mother.  I never met her. I never spoke to her.  But I wish I did because in her obituary, I found out her name was Marjorie and that she grew up in Leavenworth, Kansas.  Furthermore, she and my mother-in-law were born just six weeks apart.  It had to be the missing Marjorie who had called us so many years before.  She had lived to the amazing age of 97.  Almost 40 years longer than my mother-in-law.

I could not go to the shiva or funeral, but I emailed my friend and apology and told her the story of my mother-in-law and this woman who I now believed was her mother. She immediately wrote back that she had a box of memorabilia from her Mom and that she would look through it.  I know it gave her something to do, an escape from the funeral activities.  It was a search for answers.  Was her Mom my mother-in-law’s friend?

The answers came quickly. My friend emailed me a page from the Leavenworth High School yearbook.  They were in the same grade.  Then articles from local newspapers showing both of their names.  There was not much we could do then, as I was leaving town. 

I told her that I would take her to lunch when I came back because I could not go to shiva.  And she agreed to bring some of the papers.  What a lunch.  I saw my mother in law’s high school graduation program.  I saw the program from her confirmation at the Leavenworth synagogue.  Four girls were confirmed together.  My mother-in-law, my friend’s mother and her sister, as well as one other girl.   My friend told me that somewhere she has a photo from the confirmation.  I cannot wait to see it. She was excited as well because now she can put a name on each of the girls.

I found out that sometimes my mother-in-law used a different spelling for her name.  Sometimes it was Leona May, which is what we all believed was the spelling.  And sometimes it was Leona Mae.  Did she use that when she wanted to be a bit more fancy?  Who knows.  But I found it endearing.  Legally it was Leona May.

I found out in 1993 the class held their 50 high school reunion.  Of course, she was not there since she had died in 1984.  But her sister, Barbara, submitted a biography about what she did after high school, her family and of her death from cancer.  It was somewhat emotional to see this message from Barbara.

I so wish I had found Marjorie years ago.  I wish we could have gone through her box of memories together with her daughters and my husband.  But I am still glad I have finally found out who she was in the community.  Also that my friend and I can enjoy this link between our families.

My Last Ever Field Trip: Veteran’s Community Project

10 Jun

I retired.  I planned it since Thanksgiving weekend 2022.  I knew that at the end of the school year, I would be completing my almost 13 years as the fund development and public relations director for the the Accelerated Schools of Overland Park.  I loved my job.  I loved the people I worked with, the children we helped and the work I actually did.  When I turned in my keys and walked to my car, I had little tears and a feeling of melancholy.  I knew I was doing the right thing.  I was ready.  But a part of me was sad. I had so much joy in my job!  Including my final field trip in April. But first…

There were things I loved about my job.   I liked the part of the job that had to do with fundraising and PR.  That was what I was trained to do.  But what I had fun doing was all the extra stuff.  For years I planned the graduation and awards ceremonies.  I worked with the hotels or event sites and planned parties. Originally, I also planned all the staff parties and got the food and set them up.    During the past few years several teachers took that over.

For a long time, I scheduled speakers and kept schedules for the field trips.  The teachers planned these, but I would come up with some ideas and help out when needed.  Which was great for me, it gave me a reason to go to more museums.  And I love museums.   The speakers were really my main job.  We had parents sometimes, or just people I knew.  Veternarians, doctors, financial planners, artists, as well as speakers from different organizations like Metropolitan Organization to Combat Sexual Assault (MOCSA) and Midwest Center Holocaust Education (MCHE).  Once a  parent who was involved in Water.Org came.  That was great.

But what I really loved were the community service projects I got to arrange.  I arranged for recycling at the school.  I had someone from Johnson County government come to speak to the students and staff about recycling.  Then I was able to arrange for a non profit, L’Arche Heartland, that has a sheltered workshop.  They collect recycling from some offices as a job for their clients.  It was a perfect match, our school that caters to students who are different and thrive better in our school.  And the recycling collected by special needs adults. I loved that I was able to arrange that.

For several years before and after COVID we collected food for Harvesters.  In my early years we even had our older students go to Harvesters once a year and help at the warehouse.  Of course that stopped with COVID.

The last community service was one of my favorites.  I made contact with the Veteran’s Community Project (VCP) for our school to help them this year.  The wonderful Kristin Griffin, a VCP staff member,  came to speak to our students.  The student council had decided to up our collections and collected almost 250 pairs of socks before the talk in January 2023.  So when Kirsten came to talk, we gave her the socks.  Later in the year, during the month of February we collected hygiene products for the VCP. 

After Spring Break, the student council advisor, the three members of the student council and I went to the VCP campus to meet with Kristin and to tour it. I was so excited.  I had been watching the creation of this village since it started.  The idea of providing tiny homes for homeless veterans just touched my heart.  And to actually get to tour it and see it in person and to learn more about it was wonderful.  We got to go inside one of the tiny homes. We saw the ‘store’ area where any homeless veteran can come to get supplies. We learned about how they help all veterans.

I loved that in the Less Thompson Building there is a communal kitchen where residents learn to cook. Also offices for a doctor, dentist and veternerian to help with medical issues both human and companions. Social workers are on staff as well to help the veterans deal with other issues. The hope is that these veterans can transition to other homes and find jobs. There was so much more to see and learn about. What a wonderful idea that was conceived by veterans wanting to help other veterans. They were truly wonderful in their ambitions.

The Kansas City campus of VCP has started a nationwide trend. There are now VCP villages planned in six other cities with the national headquarters are here in KC. I read Jason Kander’s book, Invisible Storm, and was glad to know that someone who really understood the plight of veterans is now the CEO of VCP. We did not tour the national offices, but we could see the building across the street.

I was so impressed and so pleased to be able to go with the students on my last ever field trip to the Veteran’s Community Project.  It was a real moment of joy for my last year at the school.

https://www.veteranscommunityproject.org/

https://www.larcheks.org/

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http://www.Acceleratedschoolsop.org

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Money Museum, A Numismatic Joy

3 May

With all the talk about the Federal Reserve Bank, money and finance lately, we just had to see the Money Museum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.  Both of our children visited it when they were in school.  I remember them bringing home a small bag filled with shredded money, which gave them pure joy, even though they could not use it.

I don’t know why we never went. My husband was once a big coin collector. His search for numismatic oddities was a fun pursuit.  We found almost 900 silver coins hidden in my grandparent’s home after they died.  They owned a bakery, and my grandmother would squirrel away all the silver coins that people paid with, replacing them in the till with regular coins. The coins were split between my mother and her brother.  But my parents let my husband search through all their coins to get the largest variety of dates and coins before dividing my mother’s share with my siblings and me. We got to take the coins he needed for his collection as part of  share. 

In fact, in our tzedakah (charity) box, where we collected coins each week for years, we always had the children search through the coins to find ones we did not have before donating all the money saved each year to charity.

Even though this obsession with coins faded, I still cannot understand why we never went to see the Money Museum. My husband often passed the Federal Reserve building on the way to work and would consider going in. But it never happened.  Until this March for our annual anniversary museum event.

It is not a very large museum.  It takes about an hour to go through the displays, watch the movie and try some activities.  They really made it family friendly, with activities for children and adults. The museum is free and during the summer there are free 30 minute tours at 10 am and 1 pm that you can join when you are there.

The first exhibit is the giant wall of coins that used to be at the Harry S Truman Presidential Library.   The Truman Coin collection has over 450 coins all lined up by year and denomination from the beginning of the United States.  This is a replacement collection that was donated by over 170 coin collectors after the original coins were stolen from the Truman Library in March 1962.

 In fact, the day we went to the museum was the 61st anniversary of this infamous heist.   The replacement coins were donated on May 6, 1967.  Hence why I decided to write this blog now! It seemed apropos to visited on March 24 and then write the blog for May 6. But I digress. Back to the coins.

The coins were on display at the Truman Library for over 35 years. But now they make their home at the Money Museum.  A perfect location for them. It is fun to see how coins we use every day have changed over the years.

Walking along the coin wall leads you straight to the museum.  There were little stations set up for the guests to learn fun facts about money, finance and how the federal reserve system works.  One display had counterfeit money and explained the safety mechanisms to check to see if bills are real.  Another explains the history of piggy banks.  There are fun facts on boards called “Jay’s Journal” directed toward children.

A favorite display for everyone when we went was the gold bar that you could try to lift.  The only one we saw who could actually lift it was a young woman.  She was STRONG.  I could not get it to budge.

You should watch the movie, although some smaller children will not enjoy it. It is in the back of the museum, so you see almost all the displays first. We also enjoyed all the interactive displays along the wall in the hallway that leads to the vault.  There were even two displays where you could take photos to send to your email.

When we finally reached the entrance to the area with the vault, I realized that the vault was enormous, much bigger than I imagined.  NO photos are allowed in this area.  We also got to see them shredding old paper money.  When exiting the museum at the end, everyone can take home a small bag of the shredded money. 

The Money Museum is not far from the restaurants at Crown Center.  So we made a day of our museum adventure and ate lunch at Crown Center and walked around the shops as well.

It was another great Kansas City staycation trip.

https://www.kansascityfed.org/moneymuseum/

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Two San Antonio Places to See Besides The Alamo

13 Apr

I love going to museums, especially museums I have not yet been to visit.  I have been to San Antonio many times, so did not need to see the Alamo again. Therefore, during my recent trip to San Antonio at the end of February, I was excited to visit two museums that were new to me thanks to two different friends who live there. 

First, I went to the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio that is housed in the Jewish Community Center.  A dear friend of mine, whose mother was a survivor, volunteers at the museum to share her mother’s story.  Before she knew I would be in town, she agreed to speak to a group of middle school students from a local Catholic school.  She invited me to hear her talk.

I was interested in going.  I knew my friend’s mother and I knew a little bit about her story because it is unusual.  Both she and her mother were together throughout the war, and both survived their concentration camp experience. My friend was also one of four women in Texas who worked to make Holocaust education a part of the Texas official school curriculum.

The Museum, which opened in 2000, is small but well thought out.  The main permanent exhibit tells the story of the Shoah through photos and films, maps, and personal items. Another part shows the USA response to the Shoah.  Finally, there is a room with photos of San Antonio residents who were survivors, including my friends mother.

Watching my friend speak and learning so much more about what happened to her mother and grandmother, really touched my heart.  You wonder how someone who spent her teen years as a slave laborer, who almost lost her life several times, who saw such evil, could ever become normal and raise children in the USA. But she did.

I recommend going to the museum.  It is worth the short time it would take to walk around and read the exhibits.  If you can, plan in advance to schedule a docent led tour, that would be even better. The museum is free and open to the public. Hours are Monday to Friday, 9 am – 3 pm. And Sunday’s 1 -4 pm.

My second San Antonio Museum was much more Texas oriented.  Other friends of mine picked me up at my hotel and took me to the Briscoe Western Art Museum, which is located right along the River Walk.  It is named for former Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe, Jr. You can actually see his office furniture in the museum.

The museum brochure points out that Western art is a unique American art form.  It Is!  I loved the spurs and saddles.  Some were absolutely beautiful.  I was excited to see all the different spurs, which were made in different states.  Seeing the one from Kansas was fun!

The paintings and sculptures were also interesting.  The western scenes and Native America art is both inside the museum and part of an outdoor sculpture garden that you should not miss. There are also sculptures along the River Walk just outside that entrance to the Musuem. I also enjoyed the gallery that was devoted to the art of women in the Ruth Bowers Women of the West Gallery.

The building itself is wonderful, once the home of San Antonio’s first public library. I loved the ornate ceiling and actually took several photos just of it!

This is also a small museum that you can visit and see all within a few hours.  It is open Thursday through Monday, 10 am – 5 pm. Children under 12 are free.  Adults are #14 and seniors $12.

http://www.hmmsa.org

http://www.briscoemuseum.org

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Expanding my Spiritual Care Volunteer Work

8 Apr

Over the last six months, I realized that I needed to expand the work I do as a spiritual care volunteer (SCV) for Jewish Family Services. For the past four years, I have been working with the senior population at one elder care facility. To be honest, it is one of the most rewarding volunteer positions I have ever held. I believe I am really helping people and making life a bit more pleasant. It gladdens my heart.

But six months ago, we had a family event that changed me. My daughter lost a pregnancy at five months as their much wanted fetus was not viable. Making a choice to end a pregnancy is not an easy decision. It hurts the heart. I traveled to be with my daughter and son in law. I realize during the time that I was with them, that my spiritual care training was helpful as we walked and talked and dealt with this unhappy time.

When I returned home, I saw that the Bikur Cholim, an organization that provided programming for chaplains and SCV, was offering a three-week summit entitled, “Perinatal Loss Summit” with a group called “I Was Supposed to Have A Baby.”  I thought that would help us as we dealt with our loss, so I signed up.

The Mission of “I Was Supposed to Have A Baby” is “is to utilize social platforms (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.) to support all Jewish individuals and families struggling to have a child by providing a warm and nurturing space for those going through infertility, pregnancy loss, infant loss, surrogacy and adoption, and by making connections to resources in the Jewish community at large.”

I found this three-part programming informative, helpful, and thought provoking as I learned about Jewish rituals, or rather lack of, for women who suffered pregnancy loss, infertility and death of an infant. I was excited to learn that women were developing their own rituals. I read the book that was discussed, “Tears of Sorrow, Seeds of Hope,” by Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin. Its subtitle is “A Jewish Spiritual Companion for Infertility and Pregnancy Loss.” It provides ideas for both rituals and prayers. I found it extremely helpful.

The third meeting impacted my SCV/NCJW volunteer mind. It included representatives of a National Council of Jewish Women section in New York who provided individual peer support and group support for women going experiencing pregnancy issue: infertility and loss. They would pair a woman who had a similar problem 20 or more years ago with a women going through it now for peer counseling.

As someone who also suffered through infertility, ending with both biological and adopted children, and this more recent family loss, I thought this might be something I could do. I spoke to the JFS Rabbi who is my supervisor for SCV to see this was possible. He said that spiritual care volunteers could help wherever they were needed.

I also spoke to the woman who runs a program in our area called Priya, which is focused on helping couples who are having infertility, trying to adopt, and other birth related issues. I asked if they had a peer support program or anything like that. She said they had tried, but people felt uncomfortable talking to others and revealing their feelings afraid that the information would get into the public. But as I am HIPPA compliant as a spiritual care volunteer that is not an issue. I do not talk about who and what I learn.

They both agreed that this is something that might be useful in our community. With that encouragement. I am continuing on my quest to help. Recently Jewish Family Services paid for me to attend a one-day workshop on “The Mental Health of Women in the Reproductive Years.” Of the 30 participants, I was the only one not in the medical field…most were social workers who worked with or planned to work with pregnant women dealing with postpartum depression, as well as pregnancy loss. Centimano Counseling, which is focused on Perinatal Mental Health, held the workshop. I learned more than I expected and was glad I had the opportunity to attend.

My belief is that if I even help one person or one couple, then it is more than worth all these extra trainings. I remember the black hole of despair I had when I could not get pregnant and all around me my family and friends were having babies. I understand how difficult it is to speak to someone who has no idea what heartache was happening within me. I knew how it was easier to speak to someone who was going through the same problems as me than even my own mother, who had no idea what infertility was like.

So I am hoping that as a compassionate, HIIPA compliant, friendly sounding board, I can help those in need get a little bit of hope and joy back in their lives.

https://iwassupposedtohaveababy.org/

https://www.centimano.com/

https://zicharonot.com/2019/01/16/do-more-of-what-makes-you-feel-happy-or-why-i-want-to-be-a-spiritual-care-volunteer/

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Our Mayan Adventures Continue

14 Feb

After my husband and I visited the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon about an hour from Mexico City, I became enamored about learning more about Mayan culture and its ruins. (See blog below.)

So in late 2022, when the “MAYA: The Exhibition” came to Union Station in Kansas City, I knew I had to go and learn more!  I was absolutely intrigued by the civilization and even more astounded that many people of Mayan descent still live in Central America and Mexico. The exhibit did a great job of expanding on what I learned in Mexico in the fall of 2021. 

It piqued my interest to learn more. Thus, it was not surprising to my husband that when we went on a cruise that went to Belize and Cozumel that I wanted us to go on excursions which continued the focus on this new found interest.

Green jade head replica.
Residential area still covered.
One of thepyramids we could climb.
The view from the pyramid we climbed.

Our first excursion was to Altun Ha, a Mayan site that was probably established in the year 900 BCE. I found this site interesting for several reasons.  First many of the ruins are still covered by dirt and grass.  It has not been totally excavated.  It made it more obvious as to why people did not realize what these sites were at first.  Altun Ha has a large plaza area surrounded with pyramids and residential areas.  It is much smaller and not as interesting as the pyramid of the Sun and Moon in Mexico, but still worth visiting to see the changes that occurred over the centuries.

Our tour guide spent considerable time explaining why some of it was not excavated.  It seems that they only had a certain about of funds, so they decided not to excavate what would have been the residential area and focus on the temples.  Also interesting about this site is that it has no official name.  Usually the archeologists find some sort of glyph with the name.  Altun Ha does not have one, so it was named for the town that is nearby.  In fact, it was the towns people who discovered the site and reported it.

They found a large number of jade pieces at this site, including one of the largest jade heads ever found.  There is a reproduction of it in the small museum at the site.

The other interesting fact is that they let you walk/climb up on the pyramids here.  My husband and I did climb up one. But did not attempt the other one.  Going up was relatively fine, but going down was truly difficult.  There are no handrails and the steps are rather steep and uneven.  When we were in Mexico there were times that we sat to go down the steep steps between sections.  But this was rougher and more difficult.  It was an experience I am glad we did. But would not do it again.

I enjoyed our time there, even though the heat was almost oppressive.  And this was in mid-January.  Take lots of water and a hat if you go!

The arch on the road leading to the alter.
Under the arch.
THe road after the arch. And yes, we did actually walk on it.
The alter to the Goddess Itxchel.
The astronomy building

The next stop was in Cozumel and the San Gervasio Mayan Ruins.  This was a much more spectacular site than the one in Belize.  The property had been in private ownership for years, and the owners did not let people know about the ruins.  They actually destroyed some of the site’s buildings over the years.  Eventually the Mexican government took over the property.

It is one of the most popular and important Mayan ruins because of its relationship to fertility. It is the Sanctuary to the Goddess Ixchel, who was a fertility goddess.  In fact, young couples would come there to be married at the full moon, which was the best time for fertility.   You can walk on an ancient road to the site of the alter to Ixchel and see where the weddings took place.

Our guide told us that at one time there were four statues of pregnant women on the four corners of the alter, that have been stolen. 

There are only two known sites known to honor Ixchel, both are on islands.  Our guide told us that the island represented a womb surrounded by water.  Just as a fetus in the womb is surround by amniotic fluid.  I found that fascinating.

There was also another building that was used for astronomy and following the sun and the moon.  But mainly the moon as this was a site to the Ixchel, and the moon cycles were related to fertility.   This was my favorite site of my trip!

If you go to Cozumel, I would recommend seeing this over going shopping!

The Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon: A journey to Teotihuacan
MAYA: The Exhibition is a trip to the jungle
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm&ogbl#search/moll/FMfcgzGrcXrRtbjldxjlhbXqKqnSjxNr
https://cozumelparks.com/en/san_gervasio/

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Seeing Grandma In Poland before 1922

26 Dec

While in Israel, my daughter and I went to visit my cousin and her family.  Sara and I are just one month a part in age, but she is actually my mother’s first cousin.  Sara was the child of my grandmother’s youngest brother.  My two uncles and their wives, two sisters, escaped Poland by running to Russia.  Probably not the best choice. But since they were tailors, they were able to survive.  In any case, they did not have any children till the war was over and they were out of Europe.

Sara and I became pen pals when we were 11.  Sara grew up in Australia, and then moved with her family to Israel in 1966. That is when we started writing to each other and we have been in touch ever since. 

During this visit, when the young people were visiting, Sara pulled out some old photo albums.  Most of the photos I had seen before.  But some from Europe and Australia I had not seen.  One in particular caught my attention because I noticed my grandmother as a girl.  And I realized that this was the only photo I had ever seen of my grandmother in Europe before she came to the USA at age 16.

There are two other girls in the photo.  The back of the photo says “Isaac’s three sisters.”  And there were three sisters.  My grandmother Tova/Taube/Thelma was the oldest.  Esther was the middle child and Malcha was the baby. Esther was about six years younger than my grandmother, who was able to bring her to America along with my great grandfather in 1936.  (See blog below.)

But the question is: are these really the three sisters?  The notation was made by my great aunt, not my great uncle.  Sara doesn’t know for sure.  I got in touch with my mother’s other first cousin, who is 15 years older than us.  I thought she might know.

She agrees that the girl on the right is my grandmother.  That is not in doubt.  My grandmother never changed! But although the girl on the left looks like my Tante Esther, she seems too close in age to my grandmother in this picture.  Grandma was born in 1906, Tante Esther in 1912.  These two girls seem to be the same age.    The girl in the middle could be Malcha.  But supposedly Esther is only three years older than Malcha.  Oy Vey.

Then we thought, this is my grandmother on the right, so perhaps it is  her best friend and first cousin, Tova Malcha on the left. They were the same age.  We then think,  sitting on the ground is grandma’s sister, my great aunt Malcha.  Then Esther is not in the picture. 

The caption could be wrong?

We do not know.  And I doubt that we will ever know, because everyone who might know has passed away.

In the meantime, I am just excited about finding a photo of my grandmother when she was a girl in Poland.  As my cousin said, no matter what, it is great treasure.

The Rosh Hashannah Card Has A Story
This Jacket is a Survivor!
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