Best Laid Plans Go Awry

Tomorrow is August.

Where did the summer go? (Yes, I know that August is still summer but...)

All my best laid plans for a summer full of productivity seem to have gone by the wayside. Where are the neatly typed and ready-to-be-edited High Holy Day sermons? Where are the organized files in my office? Where are the long inspiring blog posts waiting in the queue for the busy season? Where is the toy reorganization project and 2nd grade readiness program?

I think they are sitting by the pool and squished up in the sandbox.

I think they're damp from the spray of the hose and dizzy from too many rides on the swing.

They're tired from all the "uppy" and snuggled on the couch with a bowl of popcorn.

I think they have been left by the side of the road between Wisconsin and Illinois.

I think they might be lost on a long walk with a friend or trampled by the horsey rides at camp.

I think they're buried under a pile of legos and drying on the line with the picnic blanket.

Hmm.

Maybe the summer hasn't been so bad after all.

How many brownies did you eat?

I love the summertime. Inevitably we go to family parties and the kids run wild have a great time. They have a lot of different adults around who think they're really cute and will give them whatever they want. And they've learned to work the system. After you get a brownie from your mom, you go and ask your grandmother. And then your dad, and then your grandfather. Eventually you've eaten a week's worth of brownies and you're not even old enough (in the case of Sam and Yael) to actually recall how many brownies you ate.

How many brownies do you think each of them ate?

David - I think 4.

Sam - I think he had at least 3.

I caught this one on camera and I know there was at least one more.

Just a side bar - this photo my father entitled "Future Metorologist."
Yes, she's checking if it's raining.

See more Summer Stock Photos (any other brownies?) and more Best Shots here.
More about the party and why we were holding it later...and more about BlogHer eventually too.

Oh, and P.S. Haveil Havalim is up over at Jewschool. And it's great.

We Welcome the Month of Av...

the month begins
Av*
aleph then bet

sadness and joy
destruction and pain
remembered
held onto
felt

but there is hope.
yes, hope.

will Change
begin in Av?

we begin with aleph-bet
it is the start of it all.

so too does hope and joy
come out of the ashes
out of the desire for
repair
of
the
world

The Hebrew month of Av begins Wednesday, Rosh Chodesh Av. It is a month of mixed feelings - Tisha B'Av (the 9th) commemorates the destruction of the Temple. But the tradition also teaches that the Messiah will be born in this month as well. While I don't believe in the idea of a physical, individual Messiah, it does seem that out of the mourning and destruction comes our desire for a Messianic Era, an opportunity and requirement for each of us to work for the repair and renewal of the world. Just as children begin their learning with the aleph-bet, starting with the basics, so too do we take small steps that grow to larger ones on our quest to improve the world for all.

It's also a month known as Menachem Av, the month of consolation; the weeks that follow Tisha b'Av have special Haftarah portions that are meant to provide comfort. I always feel that rabbis (and their families) in particular need all the consoling because those seven weeks lead us straight into the High Holy Days. Can we really believe that they're here already!?

May this month bring comfort and hope to us all.
*spelled in Hebrew "aleph-bet"

Did I mention that I'm going to BlogHer?

I'll Be at LobbyCon! (okay, I'm not really going to the whole thing)


I'm very excited to go, though! I'm hoping to meet people and just feel the general buzz. I'm going to go down for this shindig on Thursday night:



And then go back Friday morning for the LobbyCon fun...and I'll even go green and take the train each time!

And depending...I might go back on Friday night for a party...even though it's Shabbat.





Why am I going to BlogHer? I think I want to connect and see what's out there. I want to be a part of something that feels really big to me - I know that most people in my "real world" don't always "get" my blogging/online/social media obsession. But I think it will be fun to do it...

So, if you're going to be at BlogHer09, DM me on twitter @imabima - I think that is a more reasonable thing than to put my cellphone number out here on my blog, don't you agree? But if you have my cellphone number, by all means, text me and let me know how and where I can meet you too!

I'll have to let you all know how it goes....

P.S. I'm a little bit nervous! What should I wear!?

Quiet around here

I know it's been quiet around here but it's not quiet in the JBlogosphere.

Check out this week's Haveil Havalim over by Jack's place!

It's a Big Day....and I'm Going!

 

I am *right now* seeing this movie. 

Yes, I know I didn't stay up for the midnight show.

But here I am today.

So excited!!!!!

P.S. isn't that a cool pic of Hermione? While I love Harry, she is a totally rockin' wizard and my favorite.

Making a Rainbow Connection

A little backyard fun...

See more Wordless Wednesday posts at the original WW home and at 5 Minutes for Mom.