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Airports

MomGrind — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:00:56 +0000

Airports are strange places, I think as I stand in front of the gate waiting for my father to arrive. His flight is not the only flight to arrive this early afternoon, and a flood of people is coming through the gate. Faces, strange faces, blur into each other, all looking the same. They are special to someone, I'm sure, each of them possessing the ability to light up the face of a few loved ones. But they are strangers to me, and they are annoying because the human clutter they create interferes with my ability to locate my father in the crowd.

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Airports

I Don’t Have Grandparents Anymore

MomGrind — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:00:42 +0000

I'm so sorry I didn't get to say goodbye, oma. I love you. You passed away peacefully, at home, in your sleep, at the age of 95, surrounded by family. You were fairly healthy up until last year, when you started deteriorating, your systems systematically shutting down. The past couple of months were tough, and I scheduled a flight to Tel Aviv, hoping to see you this Thanksgiving holiday, but I didn't make it. You didn't make it. Which I am told is a good thing, because you were suffering. It was your time and you had to go.

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I Don’t Have Grandparents Anymore

Memories

MomGrind — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:00:55 +0000

I was deeply touched by the following dedication on one of the books my daughter had borrowed at the library recently - Lucy the Good, by Marianne Musgrove: "In memory of Dad: the trips to the museum, bush walks in the Gorge, our special rock, the bagatelles and Chocolate Night, Channel Two, the Alhambra and that terry-toweling hat."

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Memories

Why I’m OK With Being Pre-Dead

MomGrind — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:00:12 +0000

The first (and only) time I was described as “pre-dead” was by comedian Jake Johannsen. His comedy show, a couple of years ago I think in San Francisco, was hilarious. But more than anything, I was touched by how preoccupied he was with aging and with death. Johannsen was talking about how all of us sitting in the club are really just pre-dead people, destined to die at some point. As someone who’s been preoccupied with my own mortality ever since I saw my first wrinkle, I could relate.

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Why I’m OK With Being Pre-Dead

Things My Father Taught Me

MomGrind — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 12:00:12 +0000

My father was born and raised in the Netherlands. His parents, Miep and the late Arie DeLeeuw, are holocaust survivors who had rebuilt their lives in Holland after the war. Raised in upper middle class Holland during the fifties and sixties, his childhood was pleasant and sheltered, although his family was (understandably) somewhat dysfunctional. Father left home and immigrated to Israel right after he finished high school, at the age of 18, and enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces. Shortly after that, the young, spoiled Dutch boy had to face a harsh reality when his troop fought in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Lucky I’m In Love With My Best Friend

MomGrind — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:00:37 +0000

I met my husband when I was 18. It wasn't love at first sight, but I liked him a lot and felt attracted to him. We started dating, and curiosity and lust gradually turned into love. A deep, committed love. The kind of love that I witnessed as a child, growing with parents who, in their mid sixties, are still in love.

Â© All rights reserved. This post is from MomGrind and cannot be republished without express written permission. MomGrind ® is a registered trademark of VDL, Inc.

Lucky I’m In Love With My Best Friend

Things My Mother Taught Me

MomGrind — Sun, 08 May 2011 12:00:43 +0000

Starting at age 13, and until I had my first child at age 28, my number one priority in life was to make it very clear to everyone, including my mom, that I was not like her. I don't know what it is about the teenage years that makes us so desperate not just to establish our own identity, but also to separate ourselves from our parents. I guess separating from them is part of growing up, but I wish it wasn't such cruel process.