Beit Roga

Well, this blog is all about Grandma Annie. Grandma Annie, may she rest in peace, is my maternal grandmother. She was and is the foremost person in the history of my entire life who championed me no matter what. So this blog is for her. Let me try to encapsulate Grandma Annie for you in the limited expanse of these words. I believe she has a message that benefits the whole world. I hope you enjoy her message. I know it has changed my world, shaped my self. See what she

On the Dawn of Another National Tragedy This is sunrise this morning. The beauty and captivating awesomeness of the colors, of watching the sun quickly rise, peeking out from behind the mountains as it spills its golden light onto the world…How can one not feel hope? Rebirthed on the dawn of this beautiful day. A dose of calm and hope for this heart that is aching as another tragedy has befallen our nation. It is almost too much to bear. A three month old, killed by some m

Last night, I don’t remember at which point – whether it was bedtime, or one of the other two times I was lying with my three year old putting her back to sleep after stomach pains and bouts of throwing up – but she turned to me with her sweet sleepy face, and said, “You are not a kid anymore”. Really. Where do they come up with these things? Why did my three year old make such an observation? What part of her brain was developing new synapses as she made this out-of-self

I love the outdoors. It’s in my blood, this love for nature. It comes from my father, and my maternal grandmother. The ability to simply look around me and be filled with wonder. Right now, I sit outside on my porch, at my brand new garden table, a scented candle burning, a 72 degree Autumn breeze blowing, listening to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. There was a full moon out last night, and I awoke in the middle of the night, as the full moon was passing over my bedroom window,

So, there are different ways we respond to the challenges that come up in life. Knee-jerk reactions. This is not necessarily the way we respond to every situation, but how we respond most of the time. The first type of person’s knee-jerk reaction to something bad that happens in their day is self-blame. “Look at how I messed up here! Why didn’t I just stick with…(fill in the blank with the ‘other plan’; ie take the train -instead of the bus/walk the kids to school - instead

This is a special edition blog, inspired by the coming of Yom Kippur, the High Holy Days’ fast, and the beginning of Autumn. This time in the Jewish calendar is a time of introspection, as we look at the new year and decide what we want to improve on from last year. So, too, with the coming of Autumn. People sensitive to the changes in nature know this time to be one of letting go of the things that do not help us move forward on our journeys (like leaves that fall to the