I DID IT!!!

(originally featured on JPost.com Blogs)

I love Jerusalem. I love living in the city; I love the fact that my three kids have PLACE OF BIRTH: JERUSALEM written in their passports; and I even love the crazy Jerusalemites. Well, to be honest I don't love them all the time. I love them most of the time. Well, for sure some of the time.

Then my youngest son moved to Tel Aviv to intern in a law firm. Hmmmm. Tel Aviv. For me, Tel Aviv is like leaving Windsor, Ontario and crossing the border into Detroit, Michigan. That's the place to go shopping, to see a ballet or go to the theater. It's also a place for going out to dinner at a special restaurant with friends.

In other words, it's a lovely place to visit, but I don't want to live there.

The humidity in Tel Aviv is criminal. As one of my son's friends said, "Maryloo, if you can learn to like sweating you will love Tel Aviv."

Now, I think if I am going to learn to love something it will be something outstanding...like learning to speak Italian.

I can learn to love air conditioning and room service in a nice hotel. But sweating? Who would want to learn to love shvitzing where your hair looks like some punk rocker and your clothes smell like you haven't bathed in a month. And no matter how much you drink you don't have to you know what because your body is busy sweating it out through every pore it can find.

But!!! Tel Aviv has the Sea...the Mediterranean Sea and five minutes watching the waves and all the troubles in the Universe disappear.

I used to take the bus to Tel Aviv every once in awhile to go sit and watch the waves and drink a cup of coffee and write. And in my heart I yearned to spend three days and two nights in a moderate hotel with a view of the water.

So, I began phoning hotels. Big mistake. One said it had rooms for $350 a night per person!!! Are they nuts??? A second one said they had rooms for $250 a night.

There went my three days and two nights.

But God is good. My son moved to Tel Aviv. And he not only said I could come visit whenever I wanted but gave me my own key!!! Now that is love!

My Mother, Bubbie Channah A'H always said that guests and fish stink after three days. So, I try not to outstay my welcome. And, being a Jewish mother, I cook.

Today I took the 6:30 bus from the central bus station and by 8:15 I was already at the kid's place.

Did I mention that he lives on the fourth floor? Without an elevator? Seventy-something stairs!!!

Today the plan was that we would go grocery shopping later this evening when he got home from work and tomorrow before I went back to Jerusalem, I would cook.

By nine this morning I figured out how to grocery shop myself. I took out my laptop and my change of clothes from my little suitcase on wheels and decided to brave the city on my own. All I had to do was get to Ben Yehudah Street, turn right and walk all the way to Russia!

I did it! I found it! I bought all the things I needed to cook for shabbat and pushed them into the little thing on wheels and reversed my mental map and made it back to the apartment.

Four flights up with that suitcase full of groceries and a nice piece of cake and a baguette later I honestly thought I  would never leave that flat again in my life.

I opened the suitcase and began taking everything out. This had to go in the fridge; that had to be in the freezer; those things needed to be put in the pantry. And then I noticed that I didn't have my tomatoes! Where were my tomatoes? How does a person make a salad without tomatoes?

I quickly weighed my options and thought, 'forget the tomatoes!' I'm going to the Sea to rest, relax, write and enjoy the quiet.'

And you thought God didn't have a sense of humor. I hope some nice lady took my tomatoes to make a good salad for her son.

Shabbat shalom.

Have a great day...stay safe...and thanks for dropping in.