Cousins

7/11/2010: email to Dad

Hi,

We spent the day at a community pool today which was fun but could have been done at home. Mom is marveling at everything. Look a peach! A flower! Pomegranate trees! Oh boy.

I already have a small sunburn on my legs. Oops. Mom and Hana reminisced all day about their childhood growing up in Safed, and their parents, and kibbutz life vs Chicago life, and their choices later on. Hana dreams of retiring on a farm in Canada where it is peaceful and Mom dreams of retiring in Israel where she feels at home and at peace.

Hana says most of the country is in favor of giving away a piece of Jerusalem because there aren't any Jews living there anyway, so what difference does it make? Mom staunchly disagreed saying that it will make Israel look weak to give away a part of their capital. Hana laughed and said it would be the other way around and the more realistic choice. She said Americans feel differently because they don't live here and our media poisons us all the time. The only people in Israel that are against it are the deeply religious, people whom Hana believes are destroying the country more than any terrorist. Who knows what the deal is over there. I like Hana a lot.

Tonight we're going to Inbar's home and I guess we'll watch the world cup there. Hana and Arnon are routing for Spain. Luckily Hana's English is perfect otherwise I would just be listening to everyone talk in Hebrew. There was a lot of that yesterday.

I hope the census job is interesting and you're not in sketchy neighborhoods.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Love,

me

An epiphany, the strangest feeling; a sensation of belonging. A real family, one with in-laws that wanted to spend time together. Siblings that enjoyed each other's company, and happy children trying to keep their eyes open to stay up later. This must be what it feels like to have cousins.