The first installment of my Rosh Chodesh women’s circle was a big hit, Thank Gd. There were six friends from Midreshet Rachel, plus my friend Chava, which made for a nice mix and a great, introspective vibe. Between that and the whole wheat muffins, we had some magic brewing. Everyone got really into the writing and the sharing, and I get the sense that we all came away with it with a new sense of direction, or at least something to chew on as we go into this new month. I’m looking forward to hosting another one for Rosh Chodesh Kislev.

In other good news, I found an awesome mitapelet for Yonah in the afternoons; her name is Perel, she’s American and she is incredibly warm. Yonah loved playing at her place so much yesterday he didn’t want to leave! I am really pleased that we’ve found her, not only because she rocks but also because she’s right up the block, which means — you guessed it — no more stairs! No more wrestling Yonah’s stroller up Har Ramat HaGolan and no more expending my entire day’s energy by 8:30 a.m. Can you tell I’m excited?

Today I’ll be attending afternoon classes at Yeshivat Simchat Shlomo, the Carlebach yeshiva, and see how I like it. This is not the kind of place I would go to every day, but they host a series of classes one or two days a week that are a little more spiritual, making for a nice balance with the heavy, text-based stuff. We’ll see how I like it. Other than that, Yonah and I will be playing (and hopefully, napping) this morning until it’s time for Mommy to go to school. Wishing you a great day!