‘Mishegas’ Columnist Debuts in Hollywood, Part Two
One day I’m an ordinary stay-at-home mom trying to plan an extraordinary bar mitzvah and the next week I’m a star-struck writer mingling with celebs and watching one of my stories come to life as part of a hilarious webisode series filmed in Hollywood. Hey, that’s showbiz. Continue reading
Winning Mishegas Column Debuts in Hollywood ‘Webisode’
As the expiration date on the gallon milk jug gets closer to the day of Jack’s bar mitzvah, the reality of this major lifecycle event hits me like a ton of bricks. I’m not old enough to have a teenage son, especially one dressed in a designer suit, silk tie, and a mezuzah necklace. As Jack polishes his prayers everyday, I frantically run in circles and make changes to the guest list, menu, party favors, music, programs, decorations, entertainment, speeches, biographical slide show, and, of course, my outfits. Every chance I get, I rearrange the seating chart like I’m playing musical chairs.
Obviously, I’m in bar mitzvah mode full force right now. Nothing can distract me from my list of things to do. Not even the flu. Then suddenly, without any warning, my party planning comes to a screeching halt. That’s when I find out that I’m going to Hollywood, California, for the trip of a lifetime. Continue reading
Motherhood: It’s Not What It Used To Be
Raising children isn’t what it used to be. That’s because young people today aren’t who they used to be. To give you an example, in my mother’s era, penny candy cost just that—a penny. Today’s generation, on the other hand, thinks the Dollar Store is a bargain. In fact, some kids have their own credit cards to pay for their king-size candy bars. Continue reading
Moms On The Go Join the Races
Moms these days are always on the run. We run errands. We run to the grocery store. We run after our children, constantly. We run around the house looking for misplaced math homework and lost car keys.
Moms are always on the go. We go to work, and we go workout. We go to appointments, and sometimes we go crazy. We go to baseball games, and we go to soccer games. We go to birthday parties, and we go to bar mitzvahs. We go shopping. Once in awhile, we go out to dinner. Sometimes we go too long and forget to go to the bathroom, but that’s another story. I could go on and on. Continue reading
Women’s Groups Appeal to New Generation of Volunteers
In the good old days, motherhood and sisterhood went hand in hand, especially in the Jewish community. Going back to the World War II era, many women joined forces to benefit a single cause. When they weren’t plucking pinfeathers from kosher chickens, many of our grandmothers and mothers gave their time and talents to a variety of philanthropies, from the Jewish Special Needs Society (JSNS) to auxiliaries of every kind.
These women paid their dues, literally, and they also developed lifelong friendships and provided a vital link to the Jewish community. Continue reading
When it comes to Mom’s Memory, Forget About It
Motherhood changes a woman in so many ways that she’s never the same person again. Something happens during the birthing process that not only warps her cognitive skills, but messes with the nerve cells that control memory and the ability to focus on one thing at a time. No wonder moms share a common characteristic, and that is forgetfulness. The frequency of these amnesia-like attacks increases over the years, in much the same way that the mismatched assortment of plastic drinking cups and lids with chewed straws accumulate over time. Continue reading
Columnist Makes Confession of Secret Obsession
During the fun-filled, stressed-out 11 months that I’ve been writing “Mishegas of Motherhood,†I’ve developed a bond with my readers. Many of you have sent me supportive emails, and I encourage you to continue to give me all kinds of honest feedback via my new email: ellie@mishegasofmotherhood.com.
I feel that I can share almost anything with you, including secrets about myself that I don’t talk about with my best girlfriends, not even my own mother. My husband doesn’t have a clue about these innermost feelings either. It’s time that you hear the truth from me before any gossip sneaks out and the facts get distorted. Continue reading
For Work-at-Home Moms, It’s Business Unusual
People ask me all the time, “Ellie, how do you work from home with so many distractions during the day?â€
The answer is simple. I would much rather stay home and write in my flannel plaid pajamas than get dressed in real clothes and drive to an office where I doodle pictures at boring meetings and sit at my desk during my one-hour lunch break and eat leftover meatloaf out of a Tupperware container. Continue reading
Giving Mom Space Brings Family Closer Together
Parenting experts profess that the secret to raising happy, well-adjusted kids is for married couples to make their relationship a priority. (Single parents have their own challenges). The traditional Jewish ideal of shelom bayit backs up the idea that a marriage based on mutual love and respect is the foundation for creating a spiritually enriching home for your children.
In other words, hire a babysitter or bribe the grandparents to give you and your spouse a break from the young ones now and then. Whether you catch a movie, peddle your bikes in the park, or recover the lost art of conversation, spouses need to reconnect with each other in order to be better parents.
In all honesty, I admire couples who actually stick to their commitment to spend time together, even when their children’s itineraries drag them in opposite directions sometimes. And until I figure out how to actually do that, I suggest another way for moms to maintain domestic bliss. Continue reading
It’s a Dog’s Life for Many Moms
Every mother should own a dog, even if her child is allergic and has to sleep in a tent in the backyard. (I’m referring to the kid, of course, and not the canine living outdoors). If a mother’s love has no boundaries, then her need to nurture extends to the four-legged kind as well. My toy poodle Luci is an integral part of my family—more so than some of my blood relatives—and she poses for all of our holiday cards. Weighing less than a gallon milk jug, my fluffy apricot pup provides the kind of comfort, companionship and unconditional love that no one else comes close to. I can’t remember the last time my husband licked my face or my kids brought me the newspaper without expecting an allowance in return. Continue reading