I don't watch too much regular television. I do watch the shows I want to watch, but I record them and fast forward through commercials (oh, DVR, how I adore you). I never watch the news, instead preferring to have NPR on as much as I can, or at least until Matt comes home and turns it off (NPR divides us, instead of bringing us closer together.) I also spend a little time online (ok, a lot of time) and between the two, I usually have some idea about what's going on. But I haven't been turning on the radio, and I've been deleting a lot of posts from my reader.
Japan. To say it's hard to imagine is an understatement. I've been avoiding the photos and the details because I'm just not sure how to process. The footage I've seen is heartbreaking.
Then yesterday I read about a family murdered in Israel. What are you supposed to do with this kind of knowledge?
I don't have much to offer, but I do have two suggestions. First, text REDCROSS to 90999 and donate $10 to help the Red Cross deliver aid to the people in Japan.
Second, go hug and squeeze and snuggle your children. Don't let them go for a long time, even when they start rolling their eyes and complaining. Then do it again. And again.
I woke up on Friday morning looking forward for a pleasant Shabbat with my husband and our 5.5 months old daughter...when I heard about Japan and then later during the weekend read about the Israeli family who was murdered (they had a three month old baby and two older kids) and I am an Israeli...You suggest hugging our kids and then hug them again but all I can think of is the constant conflict of bringing these beautiful babies into the world with their glowing eyes and cheeks and the terrible realities we experience otherwise. How do you live with such extreme feelings? do you sometimes feel selfish for bringing up children in such gloomy existence?
ReplyDeletesorry for being so morbid...
Hadas
Hadas, I read your comment this morning and all day I've been thinking about it while gazing at my girls' glowing eyes and cheeks. I don't deal well with these extreme feelings at all. Since giving birth I've lost any tolerance I had for tragedy because I just can't disconnect myself. So when I read about how that Israeli family died, all I could do was hug Alyce and Shira because otherwise I'd just cry. I have to hope that I can help to raise these wonderful human beings to do good things in the world (and I don't mean win Nobel prizes, but to be kind and generous). I worry about how to explain all this to them. I'm relieved that Alyce is still too young.
ReplyDeleteWhat a rotten weekend.
Hope this week is better.