Whenever my mother travels, she puts her itinerary into an Excel spreadsheet and e-mails it to our entire family. She includes every detail, with alternate ideas if plans should change. I don’t know too many 77-year-old women who do this, but for some reason, Renie needs to communicate her plans to everyone.
We all chuckle, but in truth, none of us can keep up with her. She works, raising funds for cancer research in Israel, studies Judaism, reads …and travels!
I’m blessed to come from a family of strong women. My great-grandmother, Bobbi, was unusual in her time — she was educated, reading both Russian and Hebrew. She was active in the Jewish community, and she loved learning right up to the time she died. In fact, she had a special chair for reading the Jewish Daily Forward, which she read every day.
She also had 11 children, seven of whom lived to raise their own large families.
My grandmother, Nana, was the quintessential grandmother. To us she was everything — despite the enormous difficulties she faced. She was widowed, with four daughters, at a young age. She worked for years in a department store, standing all day in high heels, waiting on customers.
These women paved the way for the lucky generation who have had the luxury of choice: to work, raise children, and be involved in Jewish learning and community. Our daily lives are so different from theirs but the really important things remain unchanged.