The Real Friday

It's almost sundown and this day has passed by much quicker than I anticipated. Probably because I let myself take a nap for a bit this afternoon, which is highly unusual for me, but so necessary after a week like this one.

I've got to get ready for Shabbat dinner with Camp Yavneh alums and campers, so I'll leave you with this fantastic "Hamilton"-inspired Adon Olam, the Hebrew song which can be sung to basically any tune ever invented. We sing this at the end of Saturday morning services, and I'm now campaigning to sing it this way at Hannah's bat mitzah. I may not win, but it's making me happy today. And mazel tov to Zoe - what a lucky girl to have this happen to her. I'm sure she's going to be on to great things.



From the video's description:
Cantor Azi Schwartz sings Adon Olam to the tune of 'You'll Be Back' (Hamilton) by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Zoe Cosgrove's Bat Mitzvah at Park Avenue Synagogue, October 22, 2016

Feels Like Friday

It's Thursday night, but due to Veteran's Day and the kids being out of school tomorrow, it feels like a weekend here. I'll be working from home again tomorrow, but Hannah has some friends over now, and one is sleeping over, so that means it's probably the weekend, right? Maybe tomorrow will be a quiet work day.

Surprisingly, things have been okay at work since the election. That's been a relief. I'm probably one of the few people in investment management who cried over how their clients might react when I was crying over so many other factors as well. I still surprise myself that I'm in this business. At times it's hard to care as much as I do.

I'm excited for this weekend. We're going to a Shabbat dinner for the kid's camp tomorrow night, and on Sunday night I'm hosting a fundraiser for MediaGirls. I met founder Michelle Cove when I did a series of videos for JewishBoston.com a few years ago, and since then she's started this fantastic organization. MediaGirls is "a nonprofit organization that teaches girls how to strike back against the media message that their self-worth is based on how "hot" they are. We give girls the skills to critique media messaging, and make content that lifts up girls and women. We publish our participants' work on our blog, allowing girls to become part of the solution. Media, not girls, needs the makeover."

If that sounds like something you'd like to support, click here to donate.

And here's some of Michelle and me. Work-life balance, baby.

Numb and Sad

There's not a lot to be said today.

I've spent a lot of time crying, and am grateful it's a work from home day so I can process my feelings mostly alone.

I keep feeling like this is in some way a referendum against women like me. That the men and women who support Trump don't want women like me, and families like mine, to succeed. And I'm just a professional Jewish woman. I can't imagine what my friends with more labels that differ from "white, Christian male" are feeling today.

I know the right things to do and say. We will recover, and we will go high. But today, we cry.

Now We Wait

It's almost the end of election day. The purple pantsuit I wore as a testament to Pantsuit Nation is now in a ball on the floor (because OMG so uncomfortable), and my comfy slippers are on my feet.

I've made no secrets that I've been with Hillary since the beginning, watching her launch her campaign from a Connecticut parking lot. I wanted her to win so badly in 2008, when I was home on maternity leave with newborn Max and overly invested in primary season. I learned from one of the men who tried to help her shape health care policy during my time at Brandeis. I remember her saying she didn't bake cookies, and even then, I knew I probably wasn't going to be much of a cookie-baker myself.

I've donated to her campaign. I put up a yard sign. Checking my privilege, I wrestled with what more I felt comfortable doing, a topic I hope to explore more some day. I facebooked and tweeted countless articles, made sure my children knew why I was supporting her, and (hopefully) I was cautious about the feelings of others along the way. But I always made myself known.

So tonight we wait, and tomorrow, we work on healing all that this campaign has broken. There is still a lot to be done. But for now, comfy slippers. I hope Hillary has a pair to wear too.

Middle School Math

Hannah forgot her math homework at school. Through the wonders of technology, her friend was able to snap a photo of their worksheets and now Hannah is copying them by hand (because they were half-done, and she doesn't want it to look like she didn't do the work herself). And she is extremely frustrated. Apparently, "everyone already knows how to do all this because all of the other kids take Russian math."

She would really hate me if I made her take Russian math instead of letting her be in the fall play. So no Russian math, and more angst over negative numbers and early algebra.

I was awful at this stuff myself. I used to write "WATCH THE SIGNS!" in giant letters on tests and quizzes because I'd just assume everything was positive, all the time (you'd think I'd be more optimistic!). But she *isn't* awful at it, she's just learning something new and that takes time. And lots of reminders from her mom that math has been very good to our family, and to keep at it.

So I'm by her side, doing middle school math, after hours spent commuting, a high-intensity work day, fielding a call from aftercare that Max bumped his head (he's fine), picking him up from aftercare, cooking dinner and cleaning up.

At least middle school math is a little easier for me, the second time around.

Futzing

I just spent way longer than necessary futzing around trying to make something work on PicMonkey when I have no actual idea on how to do it. At least 90 minutes on something that in truth, no one would remember and most probably won't notice anyway, so now I'm giving up. It was silly to work at it for as long as I did, but I am proud of myself for cutting my losses and not sinking further time into the effort.

Because it's daylight savings and already getting dark and I slept poorly despite having the bed to myself and I've already done enough today and there is still probably more left to do and Google lets things be only so easy but not entirely easy and I'd really rather go watch the latest episode of "This is Us."

I'll get back at you another day, PicMonkey.

Max and Me

Being home alone with Max has meant we've gotten some quality time in together, but I also caught some time alone.

Pavement Coffee, near Berklee

I took him for a haircut and out to dinner last night, and then he put up with me falling asleep at 8:30 while he watched a movie beside me. Then this morning we got up early and took the T into the city so he could attend a music festival at Berklee College of Music. He spent the morning playing the bucket drums and ukulele, folk dancing and singing, while I checked out a very hipster coffeehouse for breakfast and had some pad Thai for lunch. Meals out alone don't happen often, so Thai is real treat for me.

I picked up Max after lunch and we headed over to the Christian Science complex just a few blocks away, which houses the publisher of the Christian Science Monitor. I wanted to take him to see the Mapparium (please click on that for images--you'll want to see it), a spherical glass globe room with a bridge through the middle, frozen in time as the boundaries were in 1935. The globe was commissioned to depict the global focus of the publication. It's fascinating to see the beautiful artistry to the glass panels, but also to see how the world has changed, and try to decipher country names many people have never heard of before. The acoustics in the room are also fun to play with, as voices bounce around and you can hear whispers from strangers on the other side of the room. It's only a 20 minute tour, but Max was totally entranced. Before we headed home, we went inside the Christian Science church as well. The organ pipes were unbelievable. Max took an extra reflective moment there, probably happy for some quiet after a loud and busy morning. Then we made one last stop in the city, at Guitar Center, where Max has picked out what he's sure he wants for Hanukkah this year: a new acoustic guitar.

Max at the Christian Science Center

It was fun to spend some time in the city together, but also fun for me to spend a little time exploring on my own too. I can see Marc and me having more time to do that again in the not-too-distant future, as the kids seem to be spending more and more weekend time away from us. Maybe we won't be limited to our usual suburban spots with a little more time to explore.