Preparations

It has been a very busy week. Although I must apologize for the long gap between the last post and this one, at least it was for good reasons.

Last Wednesday, we took a break and headed back to the New York Botanical Gardens to see the annual Orchid Show. This is an exhibit that has been staged for many years (12, I believe) but, like so many others, one we had never seen. The show was entirely indoors, in the same space that was used for the indoor part of the Monet exhibit as well as the more extensive space that houses the annual Holiday Train Show. It was quite magnificent, and we took many pictures, some of which I have posted onto a page I created on Shutterfly:

http://stayingonthebridgeofflowers.shutterfly.com

(if you click on this link, it will ask you to set up an account, or log into an account if you already have one). Please feel free to enjoy the pictures! The last of the 39 pictures is especially stunning – the colors are so vibrant that it almost does not look real; I used that for my “home page” on Shutterfly.

On Wednesday evening we headed into the City to see The Allman Brothers Band for one of their annual March performances at The Beacon Theater. Many of you who know us and know the ABB are probably scratching your heads, but we have long enjoyed their music and their shows, although we are not quite the usual demographic: very tall males, often with long hair. We had to miss a few years because even after New York passed a law banning smoking in public places, the ABB shows at the Beacon took a long time to follow the rules (and we are not just talking about cigarettes). But after some years of these laws, people have gotten used to it and the shows have become nearly smoke-free. We had tickets for one of the nights last year but I was not up to going, so it was a real milestone just to be there. They always start late (it was nearly 9 pm, long after our bedtime), and we thought about leaving during the (lengthy) intermission. But we stayed on, and were very happy that we did because they ended with Jessica, an Allman Brothers classic. I found a video of it from this year’s Beacon series at:

http://youtu.be/T_tbc8D_yfQ

The ABB usually does 10-12 shows at The Beacon every spring. We chose the Wednesday night show because Barry does not have to be in super early on Thursday morning. Nonetheless, Thursday turned out to be a busy day. I had my film class at 1 pm. We watched The Odd Couple, but unfortunately the class started late and I missed the discussion because I wanted to be on time for my first Memoir Writing class. As I told Barry after the class, this one, I think, is going to be a winner. Although I am, again, the youngest in the group by at least 10-15 years, they were a very friendly bunch of 17 or so (including two men). We spent the first half hour going around and telling how we came to be sitting there. All of you who are reading this know me, so you know that I can never tell a short story, but I did my best not to spend the entire hour and a half on my saga. Our first assignment was to write “Where I’m From.” We had about 15 minutes to scribble our thoughts and then went around the room reading what we had written. As I have mentioned previously, I am still struggling with reading, even with something I have just written, but I managed to stumble through what I had written. Before you ask, it is definitely not ready for prime time, so I do not plan to include it here at this point! What was fascinating was how each person interpreted the assignment differently. Some wrote long paragraphs, others poems, some struggled to say more than a few words while others wrote multiple pages in 15 minutes. The ninety minutes went by very quickly.

We headed back up to Sharon after Barry taught his class on Friday morning. We had a quiet dinner on Friday evening, and Joshua and Ella came over for lunch and an afternoon of games and fun on Saturday after synagogue. Saturday evening when Sabbath ended we began the work of cleaning up the apartment in preparation for Passover. We started with the refrigerator and a few cabinets in the kitchen that we cleared to make way for the Passover items. Sunday morning we headed to the grocery store to begin stocking the kitchen. Then at 10, our two first graders, Eliana and Gabriella, participated in a wonderful ceremony at school during which they officially received their first prayer books. The entire program was done in Hebrew, so I cannot say I understood every word, but the engagement of all of the children was quite impressive. One highlight was that each of the children had been given a chance to share something for which they were thankful. Eliana had told me about this but I did not quite realize that it would be done “on stage,” so to speak. Most of the children were thankful for typical things you would expect: loving parents and siblings, a caring teacher, a fun trip they had taken. But Eliana went in an entirely different direction, and said “Hashem oseh sh'Savta tehiyeh brei'ah," "Gd will make it that my grandmother will be healthy.” There were a few audible gasps when she said this and a number of people came up to me afterwards. Eliana is not necessarily the kind of child you would expect to do this, which makes it all the more moving that this was what she wanted to say. It was a powerful moment.

Then, back to planet earth…we returned to finish the clean-up of our apartment, and actually accomplished more than I expected, which will help alleviate the anxiety this holiday and its extensive preparations can sometimes cause. Perhaps my awareness of this anxiety is a good sign of my continuing recovery. Simmie and Ronen had invited us to join their family for dinner, and the delicious pot of split pea soup with fresh bread really hit the spot. Maya had taken a short nap so was in an especially lively mood which kept us all in stitches.

We packed up Monday morning and headed back to New York, where we are now settling back in. We will be here through Sabbath and will return to Sharon first thing Sunday, where we will be for the entire week of Passover.

On the drive back to New York we started listening to an audio book written by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D., titled My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey that Heidi Bender, the neuropsychologist with whom I have been working, had recommended to us.  

On December 10, 1996, Jill Bolte Taylor, a thirty-seven- year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist experienced a massive stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain. As she observed her mind deteriorate to the point that she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life-all within four hours-Taylor alternated between the euphoria of the intuitive and kinesthetic right brain, in which she felt a sense of complete well-being and peace, and the logical, sequential left brain, which recognized she was having a stroke and enabled her to seek help before she was completely lost. It would take her eight years to fully recover.

For Taylor, her stroke was a blessing and a revelation. It taught her that by "stepping to the right" of our left brains, we can uncover feelings of well-being that are often sidelined by "brain chatter." Reaching wide audiences through her talk at the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference and her appearance on Oprah's online Soul Series, Taylor provides a valuable recovery guide for those touched by brain injury and an inspiring testimony that inner peace is accessible to anyone.

During the drive to New York, we listened through the first few chapters, including her amazingly detailed description of the first hours following the onset of symptoms. Her ability to articulate her thoughts and feelings during the seemingly sudden burst of bizarre symptoms is quite impressive.

There are some who view the preparations for Passover as a way of cleaning not only our homes but our selves. The leaven, the bread that has risen, can be seen as symbolic of our egos, which tend to easily inflate. So we can think of this process as helping to keep ourselves in check. My cancer was diagnosed in the days just before Passover last year, and this connection has not been lost on me. While I look forward to continuing to restore my cognitive abilities, I also fervently hope that I will not lose the humility I have gained and the love I have felt for all of you who have so patiently walked alongside me during a very challenging time.

Love,

Rebecca