…from this witch and cowgirl.

-M

Just as I haven’t written too much about grieving over the last six months (opting instead to keep it light and share mostly happy photos and stories) I also haven’t addressed other things happening in the world. It feels strange and wrong, though, to not talk about Pittsburgh.

I don’t have to elaborate on how horrific and tragic the event was, because I know anyone reading this understands and agrees. But what happened feels so very personal – not only because it was an act of hatred towards a community that we belong to and a reminder that people out there despise my children and other loved ones for absolutely no reason, but because I can’t help but think about the family members of those who were killed. My parents weren’t brutally murdered, and my sister and I weren’t ambushed with media stories about what happened, but I do know how it feels to lose someone suddenly and randomly. (“Life can change with a blink of the eye,” my dad used to tell us – and how right he was.) And it has made my personal grief and heartache that much more potent these past few days.

As for the girls, I’ve long believed in protecting them from life’s cruelties (without, of course, keeping them in a bubble) – and we have a pretty good understanding of what kinds of information each one can handle. In Avery’s case, I told her a bad person did something very bad to people in a synagogue, and our community was collectively mourning. Zoe, meanwhile, heard more of what happened - a Shabbat service, a man with a gun, many deaths – but wasn’t told much more in terms of motives or details (though, knowing Zoe, she was able to fill in the blanks).

At the girls’ school, the 3rd-5th graders will be singing prayers for healing and peace during their weekly prayer service on Thursday, and the middle schoolers had a special assembly to mark the event and honor the victims on Monday morning. The parents were sent the slides that the children saw, and I found this particular part beautiful, and comforting:

Gesher Tsar Me-od

The whole world

is a very narrow bridge.

And the most important part

is not to be afraid.

-M

We went to two Halloween parties over the weekend. Here, a few photos.

-M

The girls are aging out of some Halloween and pre-Halloween activities – but they indulged me by stopping at a small pumpkin patch near our house the other day.

The funniest moment: After asking the girls to pose for a photo, I told Zoe, “Look, in a year or two you’re going to say ‘no’ when I ask you to do this stuff.” She looked at me and (half-jokingly) said, “I already did say no.”

(We took the photo anyway.)

-M

Speaking of bashes, here are a few pics from the girls and their friends at a recent Halloween soiree. (They’re dark, but you get the idea!)

-M

Remember the party invite I mentioned the other day? The big birthday/Halloween bash was held over the weekend, complete with a light show, dance party (not shown) and cookies.

-M

I haven’t written in a bit, but we’ve been keeping busy. I was in Madison for several days to be with my sister on our dad’s birthday (we baked our mom’s chocolate cake – his favorite – in his honor) and to go through some things in their house. The girls’ meanwhile, were hard at work with school – last week was their first full week of the year! – and Zoe competed in two cross-country races. And the biggest highlight: Safta came for a week-long visit.

-M

And here she is when I picked her up from her two days away. When I asked if there was anything that could make her trip better she told me, “If I had had finger blanket.* Or you.”

-M

*Finger blanket is what she sleeps with every night. We didn’t want her to bring it in case she lost it.

Avery has yet to go to overnight camp, and she’s never been away from us and Zoe at the same time – so her recent fourth grade retreat was a big deal. For three days and two nights last week, she and her classmates hiked around the Marin Headlands, learned about California plants and animals and did lots of story telling and singing around a campfire. So what did she think? Though she said she’s not ready for another overnight any time soon (it was too hard to get to sleep each night), I think it was a success.

-M

Last year Zoe threw a Halloween-themed birthday party for two of her stuffies, Shadow and Mist. She’s doing it again this year, and I had to smile when the evite below landed in my email box the other day. (Zoe may be in middle school, and terribly sophisticated with her email and computer use, but I love that at the end of the day she’s still a little girl.)

-M

Though our pumpkin patch tradition is 12 years running, we had a first last weekend: Maddie came along! And though the girls are at an age where dressing in costume on a non-Halloween day isn’t option, that’s not the case with her.

-M