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Jan 28 2013
What Kids’ Cartoons Teach About Intermarriage
Elana Gartner’s piece about “adjusting” the fairy tales she tells her son and daughter reminded me of how my poor children are forced to bear the brunt of my Master’s in Media Analysis every time they watch a movie or … Continue reading →
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Jan 17 2013
Three Secrets to a Long-Lasting Marriage that the Relationship Books Don’t Tell You
My 14th wedding anniversary is this month. And now that I’m mere days away from passing the Seven Year Inch Deadline–twice over–I finally feel qualified to share the Three Relationship Tips No One Ever Tells You (or, to be honest, … Continue reading →
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Jan 8 2013
A Soviet Immigrant Mom’s Take on Russia’s Adoption Ban
I start this blog post about Vladimir Putin banning the adoption of Russian orphans by Americans with two full disclosures: 1) I was born in the former Soviet Union and brought to the US by my own parents when I … Continue reading →
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Dec 27 2012
Why I Won’t Use My Kids as Political Symbols
December 6, 2012 marked the 25th anniversary of the Free Soviet Jewry movement’s historic march on Washington in anticipation of Mikhail Gorbochev’s visit to the U.S. 250,000 people showed up to express their solidarity and to pressure the government of … Continue reading →
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Dec 20 2012
The Jewish Mother’s Guide to Surviving Santa
As someone who learned English from watching TV, wrote a Master’s Thesis about TV, then worked in TV, I feel I can say with certainty that Christmas specials, be they rip-offs (sorry, homages) of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “A Christmas … Continue reading →
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Dec 18 2012
A Hanukkah Without Presents: A Report From the Trenches
“On the first night of Hanukkah, my mommy gave to me,” my 13-year-old son began singing, as the 9-year-old and 5-year-old joined him in the chorus, “Absolutely no-ooooo-thing!” Well, it’s not like they weren’t warned. A good week before Hanukkah … Continue reading →
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Dec 13 2012
Why I Want My Kids to Learn Russian
Just in case having one husband, three kids, and a half dozen freelance writing jobs weren’t enough, I’ve recently added another activity to my already tottering plate: taking the three aforementioned kids (expressing varying levels of enthusiasm) to JAR-Ptitsa, a … Continue reading →
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Dec 11 2012
Celebrating War in a Time of Peace
I have a shocking bit of information for TV producers, magazine editors, and greeting card writers everywhere: Hanukkah is not Christmas. While this may be obvious to some, the subtle differences in the two celebrations appear to have been skimmed … Continue reading →
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Nov 20 2012
My Husband Is Fat—And I’m Not Happy About It
I read Yael Armstrong’s piece, “I’m Not Going To Make My Kids Weight Crazy,” with great interest, as weight is a frequent topic of conversation in our house. Not my weight. I’ve never had much interest in my weight. Due … Continue reading →
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Nov 15 2012
A Cheap Person’s Guiltiest Secrets
In August, I confessed to being cheap, and wondered if it was messing up my kids. I followed that up in October with Five Easy Ways to Save Money for Your Family. But, now comes the deepest darkest confession that … Continue reading →
