Who Knew?

Who knew typing one- handed would be so hard! Ah, joy.
Trying to keep up with the backload of posts, emails, and comments though. Thanks for your patience, and thanks for continuing to check this blog.

Growing up, I had very devoted parents. They did (and continue to do) so much for me through out my life. My parents used to drive an hour each way just so I could attend a Jewish day school. Eventually, we moved to a frum community, but those hours of daily commutes still stick in my mind.

What did I do with those hours? Well, I listened to tapes. Anyone remember Loshon Hara 911? And who could forget the Marvelous Middos Machine! I mean, those hippopotami are still out there, still lazy and slow. And the milk never seems to get cleaned up.

I listened to A Ton of Mon, which made me have a craving for ice cream, and The Talking Coins, which suprised me every time, no matter how recently I heard it. The Longest Pesach was a favorite, as was The Purim Story during Purim time, and the Chanukah Story during Chanukah time. Those cute kids telling us that they no longer use their Jewish names, but instead are called by secular ones- it just never gets old.

I have a family friend in Israel who has 13 kids, bli ayin hara. And, when you have 13 kids, there is no possible human that could read all of them a story at once- especially since the 9 boys want an adventure story, and the 4 girls want something fun with a happy ending. So, she came up with a brilliant idea. She buys the Israeli tapes- stories in Hebrew for her Israeli kids- and sets up a tape machine in each room. Then, when it's time for bed- she just pops on the tape- and like magic- all her kids look forward to it.

Who knew that kids would develop such an attachment and fond memories for these childhood pastimes? The things I know from these tapes stuck with me till today.

So- you never quite know what your children will hear, or see- or what you will hear or see- that will affect you years later. We say that these things only have limited effects- that these memories eventually fade with time. But, sometimes, things affect us more than we realize, and pop up years later for further review.

Our entire enviroment affects how we view the world, starting from childhood, and only getting stronger as we grow up.
This is one of the reasons why I chose to live here in Israel- I wanted this enviroment for myself and my family. I wanted the effects of the 'Sviva'- and with that comes both good, and bad, as some are aware.

But every person has to make that choice. What Sviva do you want for yourself? What 'tapes' are you listening to?