15Dec

My Hanukkah Hooplah Story: Celebrating the Holiday with a Special Needs Child (with a Giveaway!)

hanukkahhooplah

When my kids were small, I initiated a tradition in our house of giving eight gifts over the course of the eight days of Hanukkah. I didn't have this tradition when I was younger, but I liked the idea of lighting a candle every night and giving my children a gift to unwrap to celebrate. It was easy to go into a toy store and pick up tchotchkes for less than $10 each, or even $1 each (at the Dollar Store). My children didn't ask for anything much in particular and they liked whatever they got. As the years progressed, I kept up the tradition of eight Read More

26Dec

Candle Seven: Growing Up a Fish Out Of Water

Hanukkah with Kids

When I was growing up in Atlanta, there were less than 100,000 Jewish residents in a city of several million.  My parents had moved there from Philadelphia, and they retained much of that Northern Jewishness that set us apart growing up.  Much of that was cultural - bagels and lox on Sunday mornings, for example, instead of grits and fried chicken. We were members of the Temple, the biggest Reform shul in the city, and my sisters and I went to Sunday School and were had Bat Mitzvahs and confirmations.  We were involved members of the community, and it Read More