Eight Hours
That’s how long we spent together.
It seems that my anxiety was a bit misplaced. Not only did Jane and I have much to say to one another, but we agreed that there would be a second date.
Not really a date, of course. But like like a couple meeting in person for the first time after a long relationship via correspondence, a friendship developed online must stand up to the ultimate test — IRL chemistry.
Our conversation veered wildly, covering topics sacred and profane, serious and frivolous. 
And, as Jane had promised, we recited the blessing one says after not seeing a friend for a long time.
And Sinai was so awfully long ago…
It was a truly lovely day. One, I hope, will be repeated sooner rather than later.
Nervous
Courtesy Microsoft Office
Am I as funny in person?
Will we have enough about which to talk or will there be awkward silences?
What if I say something really stupid?
It’s like a first date.
In fact, that is exactly what this is.
Sort-of.
I am meeting JaneTheWriter for the first time. Again.
I am so excited. And…a bit nervous. Maybe we just get along really well in the blogosphere, but won’t IRL. Maybe the conversation will fall flat. Maybe…
Though things look promising; Jane suggested we meet at a book store.
Is it Just Me?
[This was published on motzei Shabbat]
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The following “tip” appeared in a recent travel magazine:
I always take the complimentary shower caps provided by most hotels. They make good little doggy bags in countries that don’t provide them. That extra French bread left in the basket is too good to leave behind!
This reminds me of the one and only principle I learned in high school Economics: there is no such thing as a free lunch.
That complimentary shower cap was meant for showers. It wasn’t meant to be a doggie bag. Plus, it cost you 240€ (+ VAT)…per night. The hotel is doing you a favour by providing the cap should you want to take a shower without getting your hair wet.
Maybe you could bring some goody bags from home?
Lovely Ladies
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Salon at the Rue des Moulins, 1894
Hadassah started it. She used the word in a status update and it got me thinking…
Gee, I haven’t heard that word in an awfully long time. And I’m so impressed at the ease with which someone used it in daily conversation.
And right then and there, I vowed to find a way to slip it into a conversation by nightfall.
Which explains the following statement that flew out of these holy lips:
“So at this huge summit you’ll be attending, will you and your clients by any chance be visiting a bordello?”
It really doesn’t take much for my yetzer to run amuck.
A Teachable Moment
I’m a girl and by me that’s only great.
I am proud that my silhouette is curvy,
that I walk with a sweet and girlish gait,
with my hips kind of swively and swervey.
~ Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
Flower Drum Song
It’s true; I really do enjoy being a girl.
A girly-girl.
A bookish girl.
A brainy girl.
So when I saw the headline for this article, I was surprised by my initial reaction.
{{blech}}
A Midrash Manicures club? Are you kidding me?
But woman does not learn by headlines alone. [In fact, I have it on good authority that the headlines are rarely written by the author of the article but by the copy editor. So it’s a good idea to actually read an article before passing judgement. I’m just sayin’…]
What do manicures have to do with midrash? Quite a lot, as it turns out. Rabbi Yael Buechler first used her nails as an empty palette to explore insights from the Torah portions when she was an undergrad at Brandeis University. One of her professors, Dr. Jonathan Sarna, in sharing his thoughts in the NYT article, remarks, “this is a woman rabbi who is prepared to take what has been a female art form and use it as a teaching tool — but also make clear that as a woman rabbi she loves painting her nails and she can really merge that passion with her way of teaching.”
I love the idea that an ordinary activity can be elevated to something extraordinary. Taking the time-honoured tradition of polishing nails and creating an environment that encourages Torah study is an amazing gift.
There are those who will regard Rabbi Buechler’s method as a trivial gimmick. Or worse. But when I think of how she is inspiring a new generation of text-wrestling girly-girls, I can’t help but wish Poppyseed was sitting in her salon.
Lesson Learned — Now You See It…
With three frummettes running around, you can imagine the amount of “art” projects that appear on a regular basis.
I throw most of them out.
Yes, you read that correctly.
I throw most of them out. Or, to be more accurate, I place them in the recycling bin. In the still of the night. With no one to witness what I imagine is, at the very least, a mommy-misdemeanour.
I throw them out because most of the so-called art is scribble-scrabble. And while each and every paper, mug, mobile, etc. displays some acquired skill, it would be irresponsible to pretend that it is amazing, stupendous, etc. Because most of it is chazarai.
I pull aside a few things each academic year and, a few years ago, began to ask each child to decide which pieces to keep and why. I then record the answer on it so that I can remember why I saved a picture of Santa (Beernut was proud that after two years of OT that he could cut ’round the corners).
Tonight, while unloading the dishwasher, it became clear that I ought to start photographing the artwork as well.
Lesson learned.
Gettin’ Our Shehechiyanu On
"It's snowing!"
Anyone watching the ganze production of our three native Californians suiting up for the “snow” would have fallen over in hysterics. Though less funny once we explained that gatkes do indeed go over one’s underwear…
What made the entire thing so funny, at the time, was that what they were calling “snow” was merely a dusting. That led, by the very end, to TEN INCHES of snow — in OCTOBER.
The moment for which they'd been waiting
It was exciting for them. And it was a first. Their first. And so we thanked God for “bringing us to life, sustaining us, and allowing us to capture this one perfect moment of Your Doing.”
Not So Fast
Courtesy Microsoft Office
Towards the end of my shift, the library volunteer coordinator mentioned something about how exciting it was that there are so many new volunteers this year, but that it was taking a while to finalize the schedule due to the large number of folks who were still waiting for their clearances.
Clearances? Uh-oh.
Off I went to the main office…
FrumeSarah: Um…hi. I just finished volunteering in the library. Had a wonderful time, by the way. I understand that I need some sort of clearance…
School Secretary {{rather sternly}}: Why yes. It was explained in great detail at Meet-the-Teacher night. Weren’t you there?
FrumeSarah: Nope. It was scheduled on the first night of Rosh Hashanah.
School Secretary: Oh. Um. Well, sorry about that. Anyway, you’ll need a background check, a criminal check, and this other statement witnessed by a notary. Should take a few weeks. All of the instructions are right here on this top page.
FrumeSarah: Wow. Really? In California we just needed a TB test.
School Secretary {{shocked}}: So just anyone could work with kids?
FrumeSarah: Yep…just as long as they don’t have tuberculosis.
Form #1 (submitted online) = $10.00 via credit card
Form #2 (submitted via US Postal Service) = $10.00 via money order
Form #3 (in person) = $5.00
Form #1 takes 10-14 days to process. Only once that has been completed can one remit Form #2 to the Dept. of Public Welfare. Which will take 2-3 weeks to to clear. Then one must hand-deliver the entire packet to the district office.
In other words, you have to really want to volunteer at your kid’s school.
Madame Librarian
Courtesy Microsoft Office
New school means new volunteer position.
As some of you might recall, I served as the Box Top Mom at Beernut’s and Poppyseed’s school for a few years and enjoyed the opportunity to assist the school. Over the years, there were some who suggested that my talents were being wasted. However, it was a worthy project AND was something that I could fit around my unconventional hours.
Now, my hours are dictated by bus drop-off times and preschool pick-up. Leaving me a bit more freedom. And time.
Would it surprise you that I am the newest library volunteer at Poppyseed’s school??
Nah…didn’t think so.
{{BTW, we are still a devout Box Top family. With THREE schools to support.}}
Exhale
Courtesy RotemDesignStudio
He is home.
After five years in captivity, Gilad Shalit is home. Fulfilling the promise: The sons and daughters of Israel will be redeemed and brought home, as it is written, “…and they shall come back from the land of the enemy … and your children shall return to their own border.” (Jeremiah 31:15-16)
There are others who have written of today’s event with far more eloquence than I could ever muster. But I say to the world I am proud that we, as a People, do not abandon our soldiers on foreign ground. We do not give up hope. We mourn with those whose sons will never return home. And we rejoice when they are safely delivered home.
Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu Melech HaOlam matir asurim.
Blessed are You, Sovereign of the universe, who frees the captive.
Frume Sarah is Shabbos-observant -- in a Reform way, that is. Please note that from Friday afternoons until one hour after sundown on Saturday evenings, Frume Sarah will be unavailable, in observance of the Jewish Sabbath.
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Thank you for your understanding...and gut Shabbos!!! 
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