I'm grateful for: a fun night out with daughters; yummy birthday cake; an older kitten.

I guess I won't try writing in the afternoon again.

Not very much happened today. Laundry got moved along. D2 came down from work with TH, and we had a small birthday party for S1. He is 21. It is much more meaningful in the U.S. (I don't know about the U.K.). Here, it's pretty much just a birthday. Funny thing, though, even Israelis - that is native born - on their 21st birthday say "Now I can drink in the United States." Maybe not the thing a country would most like to be known for.

D3 baked a really delicious cake for him. It was about a 1/3 sheet cake in size, chocolate with white frosting and quite yummy.

Afterward, D2, D3 and I went to see the new X-men movie. I don't know how long it's been out in the U.S., it's only been out here a couple of weeks. It was good fun. I thought the one scene was really unnecessarily gross. Really. And it needed something - like less awful music. But overall it was fun, and I did enjoy Hugh and Liev. Really nice to look at. D2 and D3 seemed to share my opinions and we bought way too much popcorn and not enough soda and it was a wonderful girl's night out.

The only sour note was that S2 phoned while we were in the movie. He was really upset, crying, and as soon as the movie was over, I spent the next 20 or 30 minutes on the phone with him, encouraging, empathizing, commiserating. The problem isn't the physical basic training, it's dealing with being away from home, in a large group of people, basically strangers, who really couldn't care less about you and don't have any interest in making things work. It's the army, and it's hard.

S2 is mostly feeling frustrated because he wants to be learning Hebrew, and drilling with his weapon, and building his strength, and all that good stuff, and they spend the largest part of the time having 'punishments' for all the things the other guys do or don't do - like not showing up to line up in the field on time.

Part of the problem, too, is coming home on weekends. I am happy to see him, don't get me wrong, but when he came home last week he said that he felt a close camaraderie with pretty much all of the guys in his unit, and tonight he felt completely cut off from them. You can't bounce back and forth from army to home to army and instantly adjust to the different places. It is hard.

He'll be fine, and I'm glad I could be there for him, but I don't know long term how helpful it is to call home, either. He has to be there when he is there, it just doesn't work otherwise. I know he'll be okay, and I know that it will all work out. S2 is my homebody child, it's harder for him than for the others. But he has something he really wants, and that will help him to get through it, too.

While I was on the phone with S2, D2 drove us home. She hasn't driven in months, and it showed, but she did a fine job. I was thinking in the car how important a skill driving is in the U.S. - so much so that I would feel that I'd failed as a mother if my kids couldn't drive. And yet, here it's not really so important. It is quite possible that one or more of my kids might never own a car of their own, and won't need one. We need one, living here on our tiny moshav in the middle of nowhere, but anywhere more connected in the country it really isn't necessary.

So that was pretty much it. Kitten slept me for a little bit tonight, but became so wild that I had to have her taken out to the salon. I'm hoping to drive D2 and S1 north tomorrow, and to do that I need to be up at around 7am. D2 wants to be home by 9am, and S1 has his appointment at Tel HaShomer at 11am. If I can drive, then TH can stay home and take care of the animals, do his 'work' work, and work on some important things like getting the gaz line fixed, and a water leak in one of the water supply lines.

If I can't drive, I can get a bunch of Shakespeare burned to disks, do schoolwork with at least S3, and get finally caught up on the laundry. Again. Maybe even get enough sleep.

So, I'm wavicle. Something will work out. And it's after 1am, so I'd best be trying to get some sleep.

I'm listening to the army band playing Song For Peace (Shir L'Shalom)

:: Yesterdays : Tomorrows ::

~~~Last Five Entries~~~
Hi and goodbye - 2010-10-15
I'll be moving on - 2010-10-10
Gold membership and stuff - 2010-10-10
Decisions, decisions - 2010-10-07
Days to go - 2010-10-06