When the Heart Sings and Time Calls

Friday is an amazing time for me. It’s filled with things to do that were put off all week long. No more excuses; no more time left to put it off. Yet, Friday, the first day of our weekend, is also a time when my brain feels free and I need/want to write. I could spend the day just typing away, pouring out my thoughts and words in my latest book. It’s coming along really nicely…if only I had more time to write.

Friday is the eve of the Sabbath here, Erev Shabbat. It means cooking, cleaning. Thankfully, now that Elie is out of the army, it doesn’t mean shopping. I have barely done any shopping in the last few years. Once Elie got his driving license (before the army), he decided it was worth doing the shopping for the chance to have the car and the drive. He drove the younger children to school, drove to fill the car with gas, whatever.

When Shmulik got his license, it was much the same – they love to drive, my boys. Even more, they love cars…they’ve learned from their father how to take care of the inside of the car, as well as the outside. They have changed the oil, the brakes – even rebuilt an engine with my husband. It is a talent, a love they share.

While Elie was in the army, Shmulik did most of the shopping. I got used to writing shopping lists in Hebrew, but truthfully, both Elie and Shmulik wing it as often as not. When Elie finished the army, just as Shmulik went in, things switched again. Elie does almost all the shopping, drives to get the gas (and the free newspaper on Fridays), run errands, and more.

So, yesterday, Elie did the shopping – everything is ready to be cooked. I got home late yesterday from a day in the north with a client, ready to sleep. Forgot I’m made an evening meeting for something else…long day.

I’m ready to cook now…more ready to write, which is why I am stealing these few minutes. When Elie would call and tell me he was bored, I would (sometimes literally) look to the heavens and thank God. Life is, to some extent, at least on the Shmulik front, boring now. Basic training is weeks of doing the same thing. Going into the field, shooting, running, walking, climbing, jumping.

They are being trained more intensively than Elie was because in war, this groups primary function is to engage the enemy from close…hopefully not too close. These are the ground forces, the ones that go in. There was little question about artillery – one of the reasons why mothers love it, I guess. From a physics point of view, you need distance. Tanks shoot straight…artillery arches through the sky to find its target.

The arch…requires distance. Mothers love artillery. Kfir focuses on anti-terror. We already know the cities where Chaim and Shmulik will be stationed after they finish basic training. Chaim’s future encounter is in an area that is relatively quiet and controlled; Shmulik’s less so. But that is tomorrow’s worry; not today.

Today, I will debate between pea soup and chicken soup…last week I made pea soup…chicken soup…definitely chicken soup. Last week, I added barley to the whole wheat dish I make…it improved it very nicely…I’ll try that again. We have company for dinner…something that happens pretty regularly.

So for now, my heart sings…I’m in a happy time…and time calls…have to start cooking. Shabbat shalom – may it come in peace, stay in peace…and this time, perhaps, choose to never leave.

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