My Sister’s Stillbirth
On October 31st, 2012, I awoke to a phone call from my sister. “I think I’m going to have a baby today. Maybe baby!” I pretended to be calm and collected and told her I would be right over. She only...
View ArticleThe High Holidays Are Not The Same Without My Kids
My children and I will be spending the High Holidays apart this year. This is nothing new. When my now ex-husband left our home in Albany five years ago and moved back in with his parents on Long...
View ArticleThis Yom Kippur, I’m Becoming a New Kind of Overprotective Parent
Every day that goes by, I wonder fervently if I am doing enough as a mother to protect my children from the world. This is tempered only by the worry that perhaps I am doing too much, and sheltering...
View ArticleSince My Marriage Ended, I’m Left Wandering
During Sukkot, we remember how God freed our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. We build sukkahs, flimsy booths meant to recreate the temporary dwellings used while we wandered across the...
View ArticleExplaining the Tooth Fairy, God & Other Things We Cannot See
My 6-year-old son lost his first tooth a couple weeks ago. It was so exciting, yet scary, as so many new things tend to be. There was blood. He wanted to know where the blood came from, if it was OK...
View ArticleThe Surprising Benefit Breastfeeding Had for My Daughter with Autism
When I was 23 years old, I naturally birthed my first child, my sweet Chava Rachel. I gazed down at her in disbelief—this gorgeous little girl was mine. A perfectly round head covered in damp, dark...
View ArticleWe Lost a Member of the Jew Crew
I got a phone call from my high school friend, Mikey, a year ago. We used to be very close, but as time and miles have grown between us, we rarely talk more than once every few years. He said, “Did...
View ArticleWhen Your Marriage Ends… And Your Cat Dies
Elul, the Jewish month leading up to the High Holidays, typically is a joyful time for me as it marks the birth of my daughter, 12 years ago. But this year, I find myself locked in a spiral of grief. I...
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