Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Inspiration in Life-Sized Bites

I read this conversation between mother and child over at 'Every Day Adventures of a Pavement Pounding Mommy,' written by Yael Hanover. It seemed to me to capture the beauty, the sweetness and the sadness of motherhood and children all at once. A repost of the conversation that moved me:

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BH last week Hubby's cousin gave birth to a baby girl. So I went to TJMaxx and bought her a cute little outfit, which I hung on the coat closet door handle in anticipation of getting the cousin's address and sending out the outfit. Well, Moo found the outfit and comandeered it. It's been moved to various places in his room, but he won't put it back on the closet. I talked to him about it yesterday. I think I got to the root of it, but I hope I wasn't too leading.

Me - "How come you want to keep this outfit in your room?"
Moo - "I just like it here."
Me - "Who is this outfit for?"
Moo - "A baby girl."
Me - "Our baby girl?"
Moo - "No, somebody else's. Our baby girl is Adelle Shayna. She's my sister, but she passed away. But why is she always passed away?"
Me - "Well, passing away is permanent. When somebody leaves this life, they leave it forever until Moshiach comes. Does this dress make you think about Adelle Shayna?"
Moo - "Yes."
Me - "Will you be sad if I send this dress to someone else?"
Moo - "No, I won't be sad. Actually, yes. I think I'll be upset if you send it someone else. Yes. I'll be sad."

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I know there are some people who are really inspired by shiurim and Rabbis. I've heard the names of these rabbis and speakers and if they really do manage to reach their audience, then may God be with them! But that has never worked for me. I cringe when I hear these speeches with their cliche, simplified ideas and overly condescending undertones. They remind me, usually negatively, of my unhappy Bais Yaakov experience. I deliberately avoid these sorts of speeches and venues because I know they will simply make me angry.

In contrast to the deliberately structured 'inspirational' speech, I admire and find meaning in the lives of people. Yael to me is an incredibly impressive person. Her fortitude in the face of great loss, her cheerfulness, kindness and incisive commentary and wit all make her someone I would love to be like. She's currently looking for a job (preferably involving writing) and her skill set is posted up here. Perhaps one of you has something for her.

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