I just wanted you to know

I know that many of you (readers and facebook friends who sometimes tune in to the blog) may not be aware of what has happened here in Israel over the weekend.

I just wanted you to know.

On Friday night, in a place called Itamar a "yishuv" in Judea and Samaria* at least one terrorist infiltrated this place; that is they cut through the fence. Friday night marks the beginning of Shabbat, our Sabbath here in Israel. At approximately 10:15 PM this person or persons broke into a home where two adults--a man and a woman, parents, and their five children were sleeping. This person(s) went from room to room with his weapon and quietly stabbed the parents, Udi, 36 and Rut, 35 and three of the children, Yoav, 11, Elad, 3 and Hadas, 3 MONTHS. Two other children, ages 2 and 8, were apparently sleeping in a side room missed by this person(s) and were physically unharmed. At approximately 11 PM, the 12-year-old daughter returned from a youth activity and could not get into the house, but heard her two-year-old brother crying from inside. Alarmed that noone seemed to be responding to him, she ran to a neighbor for help. The neighbor and the child broke into the house to find the carnage left behind by the murderer(s).

I suppose, in light of the devastation in Japan and the tragic bus accident in New York City, that one single Israeli family being murdered in cold blood while they were sleeping may not garner the attention of the media where you are.

But I just wanted you to know.

I am well aware of how my country is portrayed in the world media. We are, according to many, occupiers, oppressors, an apartheid state. But there is another side to the story, the side where the people we are supposedly oppressing want us dead. That's me, my husband, my children, my neighbors, my fellow countrymen and their children. And their infants.

On Friday night, they in no small way succeeded.

I just wanted you to know.

Birthday wishes

In Israel, there is a very nice custom in which the birthday person gives special blessings to those around her. I happen to be celebrating a special birthday (no not an even number, I just think all my birthdays are very special). In this tradition, I bestow my blessings upon you.

May your home look the same way when you walk in the door after a long day as you did when you left it. May there be no cups on the table, crumbs on the floor or food in the TV room.

Unless of course you want your home to look different from what you left in the morning. Then I wish that for you.

May your teenagers answer their phones whenever you call them.

May they still have their phones for you to call them.

May all your cabinet doors be closed, especially if you're standing up after bending over to get something. And if it wasn't may the swear words that pour forth from your mouth go unheard by your teenagers.

May your car stop making that funny noise that sounds like this: KA-CHING.

May your boss not tell you, when you ask for a raise, "Excellent timing, Bibi is making us give you a cost-of-living raise of .02%".

May your dog always greet you at the door (because L-rd knows your teenagers won't).

(For you younger moms--this is an equal opportunity blog)--May your kids get into and out of their carseats by themselves (including the 'click'), shower by themselves and yes, wipe themselves. On that note, may you be able to use the bathroom by yourselves, with the door closed.

(For the men out there): May you always shower your women with compliments and love. You know they deserve it, even when they order you around.

May your children always forget to log out of their facebook pages so you can see what's going on in their lives.

And may you find no surprises there when you do.

May you always get a cart at the supermarket with wheels that work. (Hey, a girl can dream.)

And may you be in the fast lane when you get to the cashier.

And may the cashier say to you, "Would you like some help with the bagging?"

May you always remember what you went upstairs to get. Or at least remember it before you give up and go back downstairs.

May the TV show you are downloading do so quickly.

May your printer always have ink.

May your internet always be up.

May your blogs be filled with comments [almost] as witty as your post.

And finally may your lives be filled with health, prosperity, peace and love and many, many more birthdays.