It's been awhile

It's been awhile since my last post. Things have been pretty busy. But something very magical happened during this break that I want to talk about.

On, Thursday, March 12th, Tiffany presented herself to a rabbinical tribunal at Adas Israel (http://www.adasisrael.org) in Washington, DC. The purpose of this was that Tiffany wanted to convert to Judaism.

Over the last 18 months or so, Tiffany has attended classes and met with the rabbi at the synagogue (http://www.oseh-shalom.org) where our children go to Hebrew school. Sometime in November or December (my remembrance of the date is a bit hazy), I received a call from Tiff telling me when she was going to convert. Tiff's interest and study seemed to increase a bit as the date of the conversion approached. What is kosher? What about Shabbat? Will you teach me hebrew? The list went on and on. :-)

March 12th came and Tiffany sat in front of the tribunal. Not only did Tiffany and I go, but so did her parents and my parents. She was peppered with questions. all different ways to ask "Why do you want to be Jewish?". She answered each one with care and sensitivity. You could tell that this was something she wanted and felt very strongly in her heart about. It was like watching a child research for a report and then repsent all of their findings. I can honestly say I was extremely proud to sit by her side as the rabbis asked her about her thoughts and feelings. After listening to her answers, the rabbis all agreed that Tiffany should be allowed to convert to Judaism.

We then escorted her to the mikvah for the ritual immersion and prayers to complete the conversion. After a couple laps around the mikvah pool (just kidding), Tiffany's conversion was complete.

This was a very important day for her. I am very proud of her. Not because she converted but because she did something that she put her mind to. She completed a new step in her "spiritualness".

And, to that, I say to her "I love you."

Tiffany, my wife, my love

14 years ago we spent this day preparing for a special event. An event that announced to the world how much we loved each other and that we wanted to be together for eternity. I, honestly, had no idea that 14 years later, how much has changed. The love we shared on that day has grown. Grown to include two beautiful children. Our love of two has blossomed into a family of four.

These years have not gone by without our fair share of trials and tribulations. But, I can honestly count on one hand the number of real arguments we had. However, I do not have enough hands to count the equal amounts of time spent expressing love and desire for each other.

The little nuances, the facial remarks, your sighs, your laugh. All things that I know define you.

Yes, things are different from when we met and they will be different tomorrow, next year, a century from now. But, that is what is exciting. That is what I continue to love about you. You might say that you keep me on my toes (not that the kids don't do that enough).

I know this doesn't flow very well. But that is how life is. It's a stream of consciousness entry. I will finish with this....

"My life is not a movie, but since I have married you(Tiff), it has been a fairy tale."

I love you more today than I did yesterday and will love you more tomorrow than today. Here's to another year of marriage.

OK, You Win, I'll Stop

Many of you know, that are within earshot of me, that I freely use 4-letter expletives. My belief is that why should I use some made up word that the FCC deems is appropriate. I can say "No friggin' way", but as soon as I say the alternative version, I am looked at through glaring eyes for being a bad person. Last time I checked, they meant exactly the same thing. It's like a voice activated time bomb. If you say "frig", all is ok. But, if you say "f***", the bomb explodes and everyone dies. It doesn't make any sense.

And for those that would like to group those words with the likes of n***** or k***, I strongly disagree. Those word are demeaning and meant to put people down. Use f*** or s***, doesn't insult someone's being like the aforementioned words. You will never hear me use n***** or k***. Ever. I do not condone their usage, like I do f*** and s***.

With that all said, I am still going to try (and I mean try) to stop using f*** and s***. "Why?" you might ask. Well, we all do crazy things for our children. While the use of them never seemed to impact Hanna and her growing vocabulary list, Jacob is another story. He has started to incorporate it into his vernacular.

My first thought was shock. Just like every parent, my son shouldn't talk like this. However, after thinking about, I realized he was just doing what I always did. He was repeating me and my usage of free speech. Nevertheless, the people who run the daycare center he attends do not feel it is appropriate for a 4-year old to say "Holy S***!!" or "What the f***?". How close-minded can one be? :-) At least I can be proud of the fact that he used them in the proper context.

But, it is easier to change my ways then to teach Jacob that others are not as open-minded as I am. So, for that, I am going to try and eliminate the use of those words. It's not going to be easy. But, nothing worthwhile ever is. I hope that one day Jacob can appreciate this gesture. If not, he can go "f***" himself. But, until then, I love him.