Hello everyone,
On August 2nd 2017, our adorable Granddaughter Eliyah, was born at Cider SinaiX hospital in L.A
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| Hi Grandpa! |
Ella's first smile |
Hello Savta! |
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| Little 'Buddista' | "I'm new here!" | "So what is it all about?" |
LOVE !!! |
Watching our baby Granddaughter grow, was like taking a trip to Disney Land, for the first time! I can think of very few Thrilling experiences, as watching at a baby, growing... Change from a 'Human 'Caterpillar' into a beautiful 'Butterfly'...Al and I were flooded by memories, of her mother Karen, when the two of us became proud parents... Now, we were watching our Tiny 'Grand baby', beginning to crawl attempting to climb up the stairs, to the second floor,while her Grandpa, was excperiencing problems with walking (needless to say 'climb stairs'...) and after several arguments, Al would finally agree to do so...
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| Young Shira |
Mommy and Karen |
Karen and Mommy |
"We are a happy family" |
"Darling" Karen's name for for "Al" |
I was watching with mixed emotions, how Ellie's hair, was getting thick and curly, while Al was beginning to lose some of the hair, I loved to move my fingers through... Ellie was beginning to discover with joy the pleasures of the outdoors, by exploring our garden, while Al was slowly, loosing interest in what he used to enjoyed before... Ellie was thrilled with the birds and butterflies Outdoors, investigating the texture and color of the flowers and listening with wonderment, to the sounds the wind was making as it was shaking the branches of the trees... I loved to watch my tiny granddaughter, "investigates" a 'Caravan' of Ants' and shirking with joy, when she saw an occasional rabbit, ventures in to our garden... Ellie seemed to be amazed, when she heard our dog Moses barking, when she took her first steps' and discovering' the new world, around her... My previously "Active Husband", was now spending most of his time in bed, watching television and began to use a Wheelchair... My eyes teared, as I was watching my Granddaughter's excitement with each new Discovery, while her poor Grandpa, was sinking deeper and deeper into Melancholy and Apathy, which his Grandchild, was always able to reprove...
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| Al and Elly |
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| Al and Karen |
Looking at Ellie's photos, brought up memories, from the time her Mom Karen, was at the same age... On the left, is an old photo of "baby Karen" "Reading the newspaper" with her "Papa" The photo on the right, shows Ellie with Papa,"Reading" and looking at the "photos", in the L.A.Times
Below, photos of Ellie, tasting Unfamiliar "food", for the first time Time
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| Ellie's first apple |
First carrot |
First cucumber |
First corn |
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| First watermelon |
Yummy!!! |
Yogurt mustache |
Cleaning up... |
When I was growing up, my girlfriends couldn't wait to get married and have babies...I on the other hand, was unable to wait for the day I leave the boundaries of my tiny country, which was surrounded on three borders, with three Arab countries... (Jurden, Lebanon and Egypt) I wanted to travel and discover the Big World! Naturally, I also wanted to meet the 'Man of my life and fall in love! Not just an 'Ordinary Love' but the one I read in the books,watched in the movies and went to the wedding of my older cousins but the kind I read about, in the Hebrew translations, from French, English, Russian, Spanish and Italian books, I was "Devouring": "Anna Karenina, Madm Bovary, Romeo and Juliet, Gone with the Wind, Love at time of Cholera" and many others... After Al and I got married and the subject of 'Children' came up he was not sure he wanted kids... I was eventually able to convince him, that we should have "Just One" We'll would be able, to experience a phase of life, which seems to be so Important! (besides satisfying our parents...) I was finally able convinced him, that if we did not go through this experience, we may live to regret it later on, when it would be too late......
Years later, when my clients were complaining to me, about their Teenage kids, I would ask them; "Do you want them to stay in your house forever and never leave?" The answer was a horrified "NO!" " It is hard for your Teenagers to separate from you; they are Afraid to be on their own, so Nature is pushing them to behave Negatively and become rebelious... Believ it or not, it makes helps the Parents, who eventualy become 'Fad Up' "and gently(or not) give them a Shove, to help push these rebellious Teens out from the 'Nest' (their comfort zone) into the "Big and scary world"..."
When people ask me, if I am sorry I had one child only, I tell them that I did not make such a decision lightly... Al didn't want to have kids all together; claiming he was perfectly happy, to be alone with me... Throughout the years I had conversations with my closest friends Daniela, Myra and Shelly; who said how they"Totally Enjoyed" to be an Only Child!" I read many books and made intensive research, before making my final decision about this subject... I was already twenty seven and Al was thirty four; it was time to make a final decision! Al held an excellent position, as the 'Food and Beverage Manger', at the Carib Hilton Hotel in Puerto Rico, however he always wanted to have his Own Business... I had my own expectations: Even though I had my Teaching Credentials, I wanted to complete my studies in Psychology and earn a PhD... As far as starting a family, my husband was happy to give up the idea of having children; all together! My mother's instinct felt different...
It took us over a year after getting married, to compromise, by agreeing to have "One Child Only"... I embarked on a Serious Research; reading many books about 'The Only Child'; where I learned, how most of these "Only Kids", have a higher IQ , than their peers... (who have siblings). They are closer with their parents, since their Mom and Dad, become (in a way) their "Siblings substitutes"... Another advantage of having only one child, was that since these (only) children, grow up in company of adults it is much easier for them, to get adjusted to the 'Adult World' .. Al agreed and three years after we met I got pregnant, giving birth to our baby girl Karen, on February 28, X** in Atlanta Georgia.
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To our delight, Karen proved to be an Easy Child and a great Traveling Companion... She traveled with us, inside and outside the United States, since she was a baby and seemed to enjoying it, as much as we did... As a matter of fact, her joy and excitement of seeing new countries and places (including those we have already seen) gave us a fresh and new kind of pleasure, as we saw it again, through her child's eyes... Every summer, since she was two years old, I would travel with her to Israel, to visit my family and friends. When she turned ten, Karen finally rebelled (for the first time) refusing to leave behind her friends in the California... Years later as a teenager, she would discover on her own, this lovable small country and enjoyed visiting our family members and the new friends she made in her Mother's small and beautiful country of birth....
When Karen was about thirteen, she came back from her three-weeks sleepover, at a summer camp in California, telling us how she was sitting with her friends, at a group session, where the counselors encouraged the campers, to 'Vent' their Frustrations and Complains, regarding the difficulties they were having with their parents, at this period of time... Karen chose to be the last one to speak: "I have no such problems! My parents always were and still are, My Best Friends!"
Bellow, Karen in Summer camps
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With Love and Light,
Shira
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