The Dorothy-ness continues now that I’ve finished my first day back at Midreshet Rachel. Coming in this morning it was like a whole new place. All of a sudden, everyone seemed to know me and was happy to see me. I drank up my Navi (Prophets) class — I have a teacher-crush on our teacher, Rebbetzin Karlinsky — and the shorter class afterward, all about laws regarding interpersonal relationships. To be honest, I was a little sad that I had to leave at lunchtime. I wanted to stay for the rest of the afternoon and keep the momentum going. Alas, Mommy duty called and home I went.

My son, apparently, was swapped with his evil twin while I was at school today, because I found myself hanging with a whiny, angry little man this afternoon that happened to look a lot like my kid. I don’t know if it’s just an off day or maybe that he doesn’t want to be going back to daycare. As tough as it was, though, I’m glad he at least had me home with him. I’m learning that when you’re a mom, these are the kinds of sacrifices you make. Some are more complicated than others, but ultimately you’ve got to do what’s best for your kid. I remember when my mother went back to work as a corporate trainer at Prudential. I must have been around nine then because at that point all four of us were in school. She was very successful there and was often sent on trips to train executives at other Pru branches around the country. She told me that as much as she loved traveling, it would break her heart when she had to leave us, especially when my brother would wake himself up at 4 a.m. and get dressed to make sure he didn’t miss her before she left. As for me, I would fake sick a lot and call her from the nurse’s office to come pick me up. She would try to give us all attention when we got home but it was not always easy for her after a full day of a work and a 35-minute commute. Eventually, she saw that we were losing out and she left her job. I asked her once if she regretted it, and she gave me a wholehearted, “No”. I didn’t quite get it until l I became a mother myself: Motherhood is the most important job there is. It is no matter that the pay and the hours suck and that modern society values you at about the same level as a tzetze fly; Mothers have the most direct effect on the future of the world. And on most days, it also happens to be really fun. That said, I am very happy that Yonah’s Evil Twin–Let’s call him “Igor”–is now fast asleep. Shuie and I were supposed to go out on a date tonight, which may or may not still happen, but if it doesn’t I won’t be too upset. I could always use a couple extra hours of sleep.

On an unrelated note, I need to put a plug in for my amazing sister-in-law Stephanie, who will be running the Goofy Half-Marathon this January in honor of my mother. Steph is one of those people you can’t help but admire; while balancing an insane workload at Suffolk Law, Steph runs 10Ks like every other weekend and still manages to take excellent care of my baby brother, Aaron (incidentally, the same brother who would wake up at 4 a.m. to watch Mommy go bye-bye). Anyway, she’s running the Goofy Half-Marathon to help raise money for childhood cancer research. It is an amazing cause and the best part is that it takes place at the Disney Theme Parks! I urge all of you to donate by visiting http://www.active.com/donate/2010disneyteam/buckler. It’s very simple, and you’ll feel like a million bucks afterward, I promise.

Did you ever notice when you spend a long time in one place that slowly, certain buildings, street corners, a bump in the road, start to become familiar? I realized on the bus ride to school this morning that I am starting to get that feeling here. I finally feel like I’m settling into a routine of sorts. I suppose that’s a good sign. The other day, as I stood in front of Rivka’s building, I looked into a tree-filled courtyard and saw the sun angling through the canopy of leaves. There was something so lovely about it, and I was happy that this was part of my neighborhood. “This is an image of Israel I will always remember,” I thought to myself. In only two months there is already so much stored in the memory box; I’m so curious to see what will stick over time. I guess, if nothing else, just being here with my family is enough to keep me going for many years to come. We shall see…