Home from my day

Wednesday is over and Thursday is tomorrow - duh!

I leave the house at 7:15 am for 8:30 supervision. At 10:30 there's a seminar on treating trauma. I hope he's good speaker. I'll bring my needlepoint.

At 12:30, I see my "favorite dysfunctional couple." Then I learn again with my kallah and back home to pick up Ely at 3:30.

Tomorrow night is Rosh Chodesh Kislev (new moon). I'm thinking about going back into Jerusalem to go to the Kotel and out for my Rosh Chodesh sufgania (Israeli doughnut) filled with caramel inside.

For now though, I'm going to sleep. It's almost 10 o'clock. Ely is asleep in my bed and the three big kids??? I know they are out there somewhere. But I'm too tired to wait up for them.

That makes me an irresponsible parent, doesn't it?!

Good night!

And now it's midnight...

My children are home and/or asleep (at least I think that is DB's radio I hear, and not him talking on his cellphone!)

And I have just finished washing the dishes accumulated since Sunday night's dinner. Is that bad?

Tomorrow, Wednesday, is a long day.

Supervision at noon and then clients until 6.

After that I get to study with a new kallah (bride). Laws of marriage and family purity. I love it!

Layla Tov.

It's 11:00 PM! Do I know where my children are?

I know DB is sitting at the kitchen table with his (hebrew speaking, female, and pretty) math tutor!

I know that NED just walked in the door (15 minutes late) and jumped in the shower.

I know MB is supposed to be practicing her daglanut** somewhere on the yishuv, but I have no idea where.

I know Ely is asleep in my bed.

At least I have some idea where most of my kids are.

It's 11 o'clock!!!

I'm going to sleep!

**daglanut comes from the hebrew word "degel" which means flag. This Saturday night, MB's shevet (Bnei Akiva group of boys and girls in 9th grade) will perform a flag march/dance/show for the entire yishuv down on the basketball court.

A Fuzzy Haze

Three hours of sleep can do that to a person!

But the day must go on...

Meetings, shopping,

playgroup, projects,

Appointments, dinner,

working,

sleep --

hopefully more than last night!

Update

Long overdue...
really long...
Really really long!

It's 2:00 am

Ari has left again for the states.

I should be sleeping. I'll pay tomorrow.

Decisions. Overwhelmed with decisions.

House, work, children, house

Teenagers.

My mother would be happy to know I am getting "it" all back!

My baby will be 6 years old. She is beginning to read.

Teengage acne.

Eating, feeding, laundry, folding.

Buying...money.

Jobs, work

Communication...sigh.

The Oasis Center

It's official.

I have the business cards in hand.

We (the other clinicians and I) had a meeting tonight at the center.

It's a very comfortable area. Softly painted walls, comfortable furniture, and wall-to-wall art supplies.

Now all I need is clients.

Anyone need an expressive arts therapist out there?!

Another new beginning...

The 18,000 question

What are you most afraid of?

Public Speaking

I am taking a 6-week mini-course on public speaking, in hopes to lesson my nausea every time before I have to give a workshop.

I need to come up with an idea to give a speech in the class. Next week I have to have prepared a 5 minute introduction. I have no idea what to speak about. It's way to open of an assignment for me!

Hey Hindu -- any ideas? This is your thing!

Anybody?

Many Many thanks

With heartfelt appreciation, I must thank my good friends, Mr. and Mrs. Treppenwitz for taking time from thier very busy day to tweek my blurb into perfection.

Brainhell offered a very good 39 word rendition, and I almost used it.

Until Mrs. Treppenwitz called and reminded me that this is what she does for a living. How could I have forgotten?

So here it is. A far cry different than the first one.

My blurb for the new Holistic Center brochure:

Sarah B’s therapeutic treatment incorporates 10 years of practical experience in Expressive Arts Therapy. Her tailored approach to teens and adults brings expressive art forms such as movement, psychodrama, visual art and writing techniques to nurturing individual and group sessions.

BEAUTIFUL!!

I love African cleaning men!

I had a cleaning person today for the first time in many many months!

African, Hebrew speaking. And a hard cleaner.

Thank G-d!!

I love clean bathrooms...

It was so surreal

Last week I drove into Jerusalem (for the second time in one day) with Ely to take MB to physical therapy. Her scoliosis seems not to be getting worse, but she is still in constant back pain.

After the appointment, we drove to pick up NED who had gone to the mall after school.

We all met DB at the Kraft Stadium in Jerusalem. DB joined AFI (American Football International) and appointed himself captain of his own put-together team. They play flag football, which obviously has different rules than regular football, but it’s still a run and pass game.

My girls were amazed how much I knew and understood about the game. “Oh yeah, you grew up with all brothers.”

To use the cliché, “It was so weird,” would be an understatement!

It was surreal!

Sitting there in the bleachers on a cold, crisp fall night, bundled up and still shivering, next to MY DAUGHTERS watching MY SON playing under the lights on the football field.

Remembering those cold night games in high school cheering with all my cheerleading friends as those TJ Patriots ran passes into the end zone. Julius, Mike, Chris, Doug, Tony, Matt – all the guys.

And there was my son, captain of his team, beating the pants off their opponents!

I embarrassed my girls by cheering loudly.

But DB didn’t seem phased by the hug I gave him after the game!

When did high school end and being a parent of high schoolers begin?!



Here’s the write-up DB wrote for the paper. I’m very proud of the last sentence!

Chashmo Jaguars 60 Bulldogs 6
The Chashmo defense wreaked havoc all evening long recording six sacks and many hurries. On offense, Avi E caught six touchdown passes. Despite the lopsided victory, the Chashmo squad recognized the effort and sportsmanship of their opponents following the game.

My blurb for the new clinic brochure:

It’s supposed to be 40 words or less. This is 44 words. Oh well!

For over 10 years, Sarah B has used her Masters degree in Expressive Arts Therapy to facilitate self-understanding and healing by means of art, writing, movement and psychodrama. She has worked successfully with individuals and with groups of teenagers and adults.

What do you think?

It's his 40th birthday and he might cry, if he wants to!!

Happy 40th Birthday to my #1 Husband and Friend!

I'm next...

Do you ever feel like...

You're on a train and the train is speeding down the tracks and you're at the back of the train and you can't seem to get to the front?

Or

That the day is going by faster than you can get what you need done?

Or

You can't seem to catch up with yourself?

When the electricity went out tonight and the digital clocks stopped, I was hoping it would stop time too!

All beginnings are difficult...

Rain rain don't go away...

It poured tonight!

One of those hard Sunday night, stay at home rains.

The electricity went out in the whole yishuv for about 5 minutes. Only DB and I were home. We enjoyed the short-lived candle lit dinner.

I love my kids.

They are so good.

Just good kids.

Hard work pays off!

Thank you Hashem

Ari has landed

He called and is on his way to my nieces Bat Mitzvah in Maryland.

NED cried tonight because she misses her family.

I cried last night.

I miss my family, too!

Thank you

Although I am very curious to know who my anonymous commenters are from my last post, I am thankful to all my commenters for giving me insights I hadn’t thought of.

This is what I have decided:

I’m going for it, but only part of the way.

I will rent space, but only the workshop price, which is 25 shekel/hour + VAT (17%) for and 8-week workshop. I have reserved Sunday mornings for my workshops so if or when they grow, or I decide to do more, I can contract for more time.

The owner of the clinic is fine with it and seems to want me aboard no matter what. So I have written a little blurb about myself for the brochure and have sent in my spelling in Hebrew and English for the business cards.

It all feels so huge.

Hashem is watching over…

Thanks for your help!

What should I do?

I have a dilemma.

It’s not a parenting or relationship dilemma – FINALLY!

It’s a Professional dilemma.

I should actually enjoy being in this dilemma for a little while longer, it feels so different.

I have so many opportunities ahead of me.

I have been offered many possibilities, some have panned out, some I am still waiting for and some have disappeared. Nonetheless, I am meeting other professionals, and they are offering me opportunities.


So here it is:

I have been offered an opportunity to join 5 or 6 other mental health professionals in opening a new holistic healing clinic in Modiin. I have had a dream of opening an expressive arts center since I started grad school. And now another art therapist is giving me the opportunity without me having to do most of the business work.

Modiin is growing. It is a city that the future of Israel calls to be one of the 5 largest cities in Israel when it is finished. Many new Olim/ Anglos/ English speakers are moving here. It is only a 7-minute drive from my house. It is an opportunity.

By this time next year, G-d willing, I will have a studio/ office of my own in the basement of our new home. Complete with separate entrance, toilet and paintbrush washing sink, it will allow me a smaller peice of my dream “Expressive Arts Center.”

Right now I have one private client, which I see in Jerusalem. I am renting space there (for a not-so-cheap price) and I would like to build my private practice more, although the shlep into Jerusalem is costly and tiring.

The downside of “buying into” the clinic here in Modiin is two fold. One, I have no clients here and would have to build a clientele. As a team of therapists we are doing the advertising of the clinic. I would have to build a practice from scratch. Two, I have to commit to renting space even if I don’t have clients. That takes money. Everyone says that you have to rent space first to push yourself to build the clientele. But it’s money.

And is it worth it?

The therapist putting this together wants to put my name on the brochure. She wants to give me (I will have to pay for) business cards with the logo of the clinic on it. She is inviting ME to be on a team of other creative arts therapists.

It’s an opportunity, but I’m not sure if I’m ready for it.

I know I should expand to Modiin even though next year I will have some clientele out of my home, but…

I don’t know if I’m ready. Or if I should do it.

Hear my dilemma?

Make any sense?

What should I do? I am not a businessperson. I have no business sense.

I have already committed myself to the clinic at Neve in order to build my skills and reputation there.

Will this be overkill?

Any questions?

Answers?

I have a dilemma.

And-of course-the 17,200 question..

So I missed the 17,000 mark. How about a 17,200 question?!

Thanks for still checking in!

So my last (the 16,000) question didn't get such an overwhelming response - although I am very thankful to those who took the time to respond!

Let's try again:

And you are allowed to brag with this one...

Ready?

WHAT ARE YOU REALLY GOOD AT?

Leave me a comment or email me...

Thanks for being here!

Smile :)

Where to begin?

When you haven’t written in over 2 weeks (or has it been more?), it’s hard to know where to start.

Do I just start with where I am today? Or do I catch you up with all the thoughts I have had over the holidays and wanted to write about but couldn’t sit down to do it?

I look around my house right now and wonder why am even writing this. Although there are no remaining signs of the holidays (except for a couple of Sukkah decorations that didn’t make it into the box), I still feel as though I am cleaning up after a huge storm. Most of the laundry is done from the dozens of guests that came through the house and dishes put away, but I still feel upside down.

Maybe it’s all the winter boxes of clothes all over the house waiting to be gone through for size and want and put away into closets.

Or Maybe it's all the left over food in the fridge waiting to be decided whether to be thrown out or eaten?

Or maybe it's the decisions that need to be made that keep being procrastinated.


Whatever it is, I need to write! It’s been too long and I miss being in touch.

So I thought I would write a couple of the headline thoughts I had over the last couple of weeks:

-“How to avoid high maintenance guests”

-“I wish there were no such thing as mental illness – of course, then, I would not have a profession!”

-“What I prayed for this year…”

-“Family and friend expectations”

-“When 18 girls is a whole HECK of a lot easier than 7 boys!”

-“Living with teenagers who push the limits to the very edge”

-"When your 5 year old finally becomes an Israeli – a LICE sighting!”

-“Ely learns to read 'sit', 'sat', and 'pat'”

-“How do you teach a 12 year old to accept her body when you don’t accept your own?”

-“Making decisions that only G-d can make”

-“House building…Do I really care?”

-“Professional stuck-ness”


Those should peak your curiosity enough to know what has been going on around here.

I’ll try to post more now that everyone is back to school.

Miss you!