Wonder

We drove up to Sharon early Wednesday morning, the day before Thanksgiving. We had planned to go that afternoon and look at a couple of used pianos at a place about an hour past Sharon, but the heavy rain had made the driving exhausting and we had to table those plans. Ella is anxious to begin lessons and now that the work they have been doing in their house is nearly complete, they have a spot cleared and just waiting for the piano! So we hope over the coming weeks to have a chance to fill that space.

Meanwhile, we were able to take the three older girls to a movie on Thanksgiving Day while the other adults were preparing for dinner. We saw “Wonder,” a movie based on the R.J. Palacio book of the same name. The movie tells the story of a ten-year-old boy named Auggie Pullman, who was born with a condition known as Treacher Collins Syndrome that causes facial abnormalities that even after many surgeries are still quite apparent. Because of this, and having spent much of his young life in and out of hospitals during 27 surgical procedures, he has been home schooled through the fourth grade. As the movie begins Auggie is entering the fifth grade at a local school in a trendy, though unspecified, New York City neighborhood. The movie, which received a glowing review in the New York Times, tells his story through focusing on the various people in his life, which I believe is how the book is structured as well. Our granddaughter Maya has read the book, and was quick to point out that there was quite a bit in the book that was not included in the movie.

The phrase “sugar coated” is what comes to mind in thinking about this film. Despite the best efforts of a warm and caring principal (played by Mandy Patinkin), most of his classmates treat Auggie, played by the young actor Jacob Tremblay, distressingly poorly. But his parents, played by Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson (need I say more?), are over-the-top perfect. Even his older sister Via (Izabela Vidovic), who struggles with having a brother who demands so much of their parents’ attention, is an amazingly mature teenager. It is no surprise that the story has a happy ending.

This was a movie that Eliana, Ella, and Maya all wanted to see, so we took the three of them. But Eliana and Ella, now 12 and 11, wanted to go to the movie themselves. So. we drove the three of them but then Barry, Maya, and I sat separate from the two older girls.

After the movie we all gathered at Simmie and Ronen’s house for our Thanksgiving dinner. Barry did his usual task of carving the turkey while some of us worked on getting the other food to the table, and here is the how it all looked before we sat down to feast.

On Friday we went with Julia and Noah, along with their mom and big sister, to the Providence Children’s Museum. We had not been there in some time, because it is primarily a place for young children. Julia, at 3½,  is the perfect age at this point. Noah was a bit overwhelmed at first but he eventually became more comfortable with the crowds and the noise and had a great time as well. The highlight is the large water play area. The large plastic aprons that the museum provides for the children to wear do not keep them from getting very wet, which just adds to the fun.

We had Shabbat dinner on Friday night with Simmie and family and spent Shabbat afternoon with Dina and the two younger children: Joshua and Aaron had travelled to Jacksonville, FL to celebrate a Bar Mitzvah (friends who used to live in Sharon and still come up quite often to visit family) and Ella spent Shabbat with a friend in Rhode Island. It was a really nice opportunity to have some quiet time with the two little ones. After Shabbat Barry and I drove down to Providence to escort Ella back to Sharon, and an excursion reminiscent of many such trips twenty-five years ago.

On Sunday we took Maya and Ella to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The two girls, who are two years apart, really get along so well: they have the affection of sisters who are close in age without all the drama that sisters close in age usually experience. They also share a lot of interests, including reading, art, and music. We enjoyed the special exhibit, “Takashi Murakami: Lineage of Eccentrics,  A Collaboration with Nobuo Tsuji and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.”

After the museum we headed to Café Eilat (kosher pizza) in Brookline for lunch, and then stopped at Kolbo, the Judaica store where we had taken Eliana last month, to buy Maya a new mezuzah to replace the Winnie the Pooh one she had on her door and had long since outgrown. The trip was completed with a stop at Kupels Bakery for treats to take home. It was a terrific day.

We headed back to New York on Monday morning. It is just so quiet here!

Have a great week.

Love,

Rebecca