by Karolyn Benger I am not an idiot. I think. Or at least, I am almost certain that I am not an idiot. Yet, frequently, I find myself doing things or caught in situations that make me question this assumption. For example, the numerous times I forget my keys. I have been locked out of my own home at least four times in the past six weeks. But I can justify this because I have three different bags depending on which role I am playing in that moment. Three bags!!! I have a purse for … [Read more...]
The Meaning of Rosh Hashanah
September 22, 2013 By
by Karolyn Benger The Jewish new year Rosh Hashanah has just passed and I’ve been asked to write about its meaning...and the panic immediately set in. I have nothing to say. We eat apples dipped in honey in the hopes of having a sweet new year. We go to synagogue and pray endlessly for hours hoping to be “sealed” in the book of life. We listen to the shofar (a hollowed ram’s horn) to awaken our soul to repent. These rituals -- and there are many more -- have historical significance and … [Read more...]
The Mother’s Dilemma
August 29, 2013 By
by Karolyn Benger “I’m making superlawn” my three year old son said as he stuffed wood chips and dirt into the plastic cement mixer at our nearby playground. “What’s super lawn?” I asked and he explained in great detail about food you could eat from dirt once it had been mixed up enough in a cement mixer. It was around one o’clock and since my son didn’t nap anymore we were outside for our post-lunch half of the day. I was predominately a stay at home mother. I say predominately because … [Read more...]
“Be Careful When You Run With that Stick!”
August 15, 2013 By
By Karolyn Benger There are many things I find myself saying as a parent that I never thought I would say. Things that everyone knows should not be allowed. Things that, before having children, I would have glared or rolled my eyes at or, in a particular moment of self-righteousness, I would have approached the mother about. And then I had kids. Two of them. Rambunctious, active boys. And I have ceased judging other parents and the things they say. What's more, I have learned there … [Read more...]
