Wholesome Fun

Wholesome fun . . . that is what it was on Friday night.

Backing up a few hours, I received a call from Sandra, Jose's girlfriend, inviting me and the entire Leshinsky family to Jose's surprise birthday party. Jose works for me and also does freelance work for Joel too. Sandra also invited Samantha, who also works for me. That was a big thing for Sandra because I know that she is a bit intimidated by Samantha and me. No need to be of course, but that is her hurdle. However, Samantha and I decided that we should definitely go to help him celebrate.

So Joel and I invited Samantha to meet us for dinner first. We ended up at Flanagan's in Weston. After a nice relaxing dinner we drove off into Southwest Ranches to Jose's family's house. He lives on a horse farm on many acres with about 70 horses!

When we arrived, Jose's face lit up like a Christmas tree. He was so excited that we all came to his birthday surprise party! He was celebrating his 27th! Yes, I know, he is but a baby. In fact, he is young enough to be my son which was really weird to accept when I first met him almost two years ago.

So there were about 20 20-somethings celebrating. They are all salsa dancers and they danced up a storm. In between dancing there was a lot of laughter, a lot of eating and some drinking, but not drunkeness.

Then at about 9:30 pm Jose announced that we were going to play "Cranium." I had never played that game, but hey, how bad could it be? So we split up into two teams . . . males against females! There were 11 of us and five of them. It really was a fun game. A little bit of Jeopardy, a little bit of Charades, Hangman, Wheel of Fortune and so on.

Wholesome fun. It gives me hope that the Y generation, although a bit geeky and nerdy, will be okay. These are the future doctors that will be curing our ails and the future lawyers protecting our rights. They were just downright nice people. And that was a good feeling.

It's Here

Rachel left at 7:15 a.m. this morning to go take her SAT test. I hugged her, asked her if she had her number two pencils, her calculator, a bottle of water and a snack. She, of course, rolled her eyes at me and hugged me back and said that she loved me and that she did have all those things.

Well, we have done our job. Although it is never done, I can honestly say that we have done a great job. From the first moment she was placed in my arms and those clear blue eyes blinked open, I fell in love all over again. I loved every moment. Even the difficult ones. From changing diapers and breastfeeding to teaching her how to tie her shoes and say her first word. From watching Joel teach her how to sing every single word of "Grease" while she was sitting on the top of our baby grand piano in the living room, to taking her to the make up counter and watching the transformation from child to young woman for her first dance. I even enjoyed the moments when she threw her tantrums. It only showed her true independent spirit, her strong will to go and get what she really wanted. And there were many of those moments. The temper still flares now and then.

Today Rachel is taking her first step toward adulthood with this SAT test. Next we will be visiting colleges and before we know it we will be waving goodbye trying desperately to hold back the tears.

But it isn't all sadness. It is an exciting time to see Rachel takes these steps, just has she took her first steps right outside Roni and Chris' house in Crystal Beach. Then the anticipation of receiving the grades in the mail, or perhaps on email, will be alleviated when they arrive.

We don't know what the future holds, but it's here and it is a natural next step. And she is doing it on her own today.

It's That Time of Year Again

It is that time of year again when I take joy in watching other people make fools of themselves.

Tuesday night was the first night of American Idol. Why I am addicted to that TV show, I really don't know, but I am. I love to watch the auditions. I love to hear Simon Cowell's responses to the outlandish. He can be terribly mean, but it is good entertainment. Just what FOX wants out of the audience. We come back for more because people get up there and either they just want to be seen on national television or they really, truly believe that they can sing.

The first night was in Philadelphia. Two hours of wonderful entertainment, interspersed with a rare talented individual that can hold a tune or belt out a note. Then of course there are the pity cases where some poor, stupid teenager got herself pregnant and is raising her child without the father and wants to be a superstar. They always get through because they tug the heartstrings. I call that the Fantasia factor.

Then you have the ultimately bazaar, like this guy who came in a black cape and when he dropped the cape was dressed as Cleopatra except he was completely hairy like a bear all over. So they tell him that if he gets waxed he can come back . . . and he did it and then he still couldn't sing a note.

On night two the moved the auditions to Texas. More of the same. This will go on for another week and they on to Hollywood to eliminate the singers that think they can sing until they are under pressure in the lights of the studio and in front of an audience and many TV cameras. Only the strong will survive.

I would LOVE to be a judge on American Idol. I almost always agree with Simon. Although I wouldn't pepper my comments so boldly as he does, I would still be painfully honest and tell them that this just isn't their forte.

And so now I wait until next Tuesday to see the next edition of American Idol.

Six Degrees of Far Rockaway

No matter where I go or what I do, Far Rockaway will always be my link. Whenever I have conversations with people and we talk about where I am from, I always find a connection to Far Rockaway!

Just today, I was at a marketing workshop. After a long day of listening to my wonderful speaker, Alice Zimet, a fellow New Yorker, speak to more than 100 cultural organizations and artists, we decided we both needed a drink.

So off we headed, with a co-worker to Tarpon Bend in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Since Alice didn't rent a car, I volunteered to pick her up at the hotel and be her driver around town. It gave us a chance to chat along the way. As we were talking, she asked me where I was from and of course I told her Far Rockaway. She said that she knows someone, a very dear friend of hers, who also blew her off for some unknown reason, who used to be the Executive Director of the Paul Taylor Dance Company. I almost pulled the car over! I screamed out, "you mean Ross Kramberg????" I couldn't believe it!

So then we started trading stories about Ross. She made me call Joel to tell him, but he was so blase about it!!

So it goes, over and over again. No matter where I go or who I meet, I can always find a Far Rockaway connection. I call it the "Six Degrees of Far Rockaway."

New Year, New Beginnings

The year begins and so we have new beginnings, or do we just continue where we left off in 2007?

So many people make New Years resolutions. What are resolutions? The dictionary defines them as: the act or process of resolving. So what are we resolving exactly??

Some people resolve to lose weight or go back to the gym. Others resolve to be more friendly or more organized.

But I don't really believe in resolutions. If you want to make a change, you have to want to make a change. And if that is true, then just do it.

Since I have been sick the past three days I have spent a lot of time in front of the television. So many talk shows dedicate segments to helping people fulfill their resolutions. They have segments on low fat food, on better exercises, on how to quit smoking. But in reality, unless a person wants help, no one can really reach out and help them.

Point in case . . . Britney Spears. Okay, I never really thought that I would bring her up in my blog, but now that I have . . . she is a very sad case. A child star, too much fame, too soon and can't ever live a normal life without cameras flashing in her face. Added on top of that, she got married when she shouldn't have. She had children when she should't have. She is now reported to have mental illness. So how can this person possibly help herself, even if she wanted to. Okay, so this is the ultimate extreme case.

Another point . . . my daughters are so unbelievably disorganized. I can't help them straighten out their rooms because two days later their rooms look exactly like it was before I helped. So, I just accept that they will have messy rooms and ignore it . . . as long as they don't mess up the rest of the house. Their house is their own person space and their signature. We do discuss it at times, in fact we discussed it at the dinner table last night. But I now know that unless they want the help, I can't help.

That goes for everyone. And that applies to New Years Resolutions as well. People usually do not stick with these resolutions. They think that they will, but then they slip a little bit and then a lot and then . . . oh well, forget it. Maybe next year.

that is why I don't make resolutions. If I want to change something about myself or my life, I just do it. I find that if I continue to do something for at least two straight weeks, then I am usually hooked and then it is a permanent change and it becomes a habit.

So, yes, here is a new year, and new beginnings so to speak. A fresh slate. I am happy with the changes that occurred in 2007 and this should lead to a much less stressful year. But, at least I did cut my hair about four inches. That was about the only resolution that I would allow!

Rachel's Birthday

Smart, analytical, creative, shy, loving, curious, stubborn. These are adjectives that describe my first born child. From the moment that she was born and was placed into my arms, I fell in love all over again. It is these types of moments that stay with you forever. You savior them, roll them over and over in your mind, relive them in your dreams. But all of those adjectives described Rachel when she was a little girl and they describe her today. Today my baby turns 17 years old.

Although not quite a woman and not truly a child, she is caught in a strange and delicate moment of life. I remember when I was 17. I was scared of growing up because that meant that I would be leaving home soon -- the only place that provided me the safe feelings that you have while growing up. Although these are false secure feelings that your parents can solve almost any problem and a kiss on a boo boo makes the world a better place, the security that I was brought up on helped to make me the person that I am today. Hopefully, Joel and I have created that same security net that was always there for our children.

As I turned 17, I was still rebelling. The world was an angry place. There was a war going on a continent away but on the nightly news we heard body counts. I wanted peace, just like all of my favorite singers were singing about. I wanted my POW to return to his safety net. I was breaking up with a boyfriend because I didn't want to be anyone's girlfriend because it meant compromising my time to someone else and I wasn't ready. I was still retreating to my bedroom to lose myself in my music -- whether it was on the turntable and blaring out of my speakers or my own coming out of my guitar. I was getting ready to take my first SAT test. I was contemplating college. And, I was about to start to date Joel about six weeks later at Thanksgiving. I was recording all of my thoughts in a diary that is now safely hidden in my closet away from the inquiring eyes of my children.

So what is so different in Rachel's life at 17? The world is still an angry place with a war a continent away. We still hear body counts -- although now they are called "Troops." We don't wear POW bracelets, in fact we really don't hear about POWs in this war. Rachel retreats to her room, to her music, only now it is on MY guitar or one of the other four that belong to her! She doesn't have a boyfriend although I imagine that she would like one even though she doesn't like what it does to her girlfriends. She really hasn't rebelled at all towards us and that is a huge compliment to our parenting skills. She is about to take her first SAT test in three weeks. And, as for her thoughts, she is much more confident about herself than I ever was and she doesn't seem to need to analyze her thoughts and actions. Again, that is another compliment to our parenting skills.

My sweet child, almost woman, has been adaquately prepared to face the world. She has strong opinions, a great sense of humor, a love of the arts, an appreciation for history and trivia and is generally the type of person that everyone wants as a friend. However, she is an extremely private person and picks and chooses her friends carefully and then decides for herself whom she wants to spend her time with.

So to my Rachel, I wish you the happiest of birthdays. I hope that all of your birthdays will be as special as this one.