This afternoon, Yonah and I took the bus over to Nachlaot to pick Shuie up from school. I had been to some areas of the neighborhood before, like Machane Yehuda, the big outdoor market that sells everything under the sun. Other sections I had never seen until today. Nachlaot is a maze of stone alleyways and funky, converted houses. The vibe there is very hippie/spiritual, definitely right up our alley. Shuie and I have been considering moving there so that he can be closer to his school and I can actually make some friends (Ramat Eshkol is not the friendliest place), and my visit there today confirmed my desire to make the change. Thankfully, there’s no major hurry, so we can take our time until the right place turns up. After our trek through the hills of Nachlaot, we visited Shuie’s friend Avi and his wife Chana Sara, Chaim’s brother and sister-in-law, and their four kids Elimelech, Binyomin, Betzalel and Penina. Penina (15 months) was instantly taken with Yonah and chased him all over the apartment. Can you blame her? Meanwhile, I was so exhausted from running around that I fell asleep on their couch. Talk about a nice first impression…I had a great inspiration today after watching a video blog featuring Chana Weisman, a Jewish woman who writes about Jewish pregnancy and motherhood. She talked about the little irritations that come up each day — a spilled glass of juice, an untimely rainstorm when she needs to get the kids to school– and how when she takes a step back, she remembers that these are all aspects of the life she had always wanted, a life of answered prayers. I was totally blown away. It is so easy for me to get swept up in self-pity and negativity — “Poor me, I live in a neighborhood where no one talks to me”, “Poor me, I only get to learn for half the day”– but when I get over myself I realize that the neighborhood I am living in is in JERUSALEM, and that that I get to learn for four whole hours a day, and I get to spend the rest of the day playing with my amazing son. Am I not living a life of answered prayers, too? Is my life not a dream come true? I wrote Chana an email to thank her for her wisdom because it totally turned me around. Last night, back in the States, my cousin Linda threw a party for my sister Shira’s birthday. Shira posted pictures up on Facebook today, including one with her and my two handsome brothers. I regret not being there to help celebrate, but I pray that we will have many more opportunities to do so together when we come home.