A little glance at our life on base:
THE BUGLE CALL:
Every weekday morning at 0700 we are greeted to the day by the bugle over loudspeaker playing Reveille. 1700 (5:00 PM) in the evening, Retreat and the Star-Spangled banner tell us the work day has come to an end and at 2100 (9:00 PM), Taps reminds us that it's time to be going to sleep.
At first, for a few months, I thought this was just a really nice way to give the day some rhythm. We would never sleep in too late, the Retreat in the evening reminded Yoni to daven Minchah, and I used Taps as an excuse to Yoni that we should get to bed ASAP (he likes staying up a bit later than me).
This past week, these daily occurences took on a new meaning for me.
Over Shabbat last week in Dallas, Pappy shared a very interesting D'var Torah. In the parashah, two consecutive pasukim discuss a bugle/trumpet call. One instance is when the Jewish people are at war. The other is at a joyful ocassion. How interesting to use the same means of communication and expression at such seemingly opposite events. What's the connection? What does the bugle call represent?
Well, commentary explains that the bugle serves as a reminder that it all comes from G-d. During war, it reminds us, "This too was sent by G-d for some reason." During a happy ocassion, when it's easy to get caught up in everything and be overcome with surface level joy, it reminds us, "Remember that G-d is to thank for all of these wonderful things."
So after hearing that D'var Torah over the weekend, I woke up to Reveille on Monday morning and at once my mind jumped to the meaning of the bugle in the parashah - a reminder that the good and the bad all come from G-d. How cool that three times every day we get our own personal bugle call - kind of convenient that the times coincide almost perfectly with Shacharit, Minchah, and Maariv...
THE BIRDIE:
The other day, on the way out the door to go to work, I saw a little creature struggling on the driveway. At first glance, I thought it was a bird that had gotten cut in half. I got a little grossed out and got in the car.
Yoni took me to work (he does that usually so he can use the car around Enid for a few hours). When he came to pick me up, he said that he went back home to check on the thing in the driveway and it turns out it was a baby bird who fell out of its nest and looked like it broke its wing. He called the housing office, who gave him the number for the Enid Wildlife Rescue. They told him to contact this older woman who lives downtown and nurses birds back to health.
He had to come get me before he could get the bird all boxed up in the car, so when I came home I helped him put it in a box and he took it to the "rehabilitation center." It turns out it was a little Starling, less than two weeks old. The lady said it will most probably live and be perfectly fine, but if Yoni hadn't called, it would have been dead by morning. Wow, what a mitzvah - I was proud!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Evidence that we're ready for a relaxing, quiet Shabbat at home...
For the first weekend in a month, we woke up on Friday morning with nowhere to go. We're staying home and having quiet, small meals. Yay! Now I know we've been getting pretty worn out and tired, but we always had a day here or there to recover a bit. Just now, as we were working together in the kitchen getting food prepared, I had a moment of, "Wow. This is why we need Shabbat."
All day I've been going back and forth from the computer room working on homework to the kitchen to check on food to the bedroom to change the sheets, etc. So anyone who knows me knows that my phone has already been misplaced a few times throughout the day. I wanted to make a call, so I asked Yoni if he has seen my phone. Of course he says, "I've seen it many times, but you've probably moved it a few times since then." So I proceeded to pick up the house phone and dial my number. After first dialing my old cell phone which has been out of service for six months, I dial the correct number, hear the ring, and start around the house in search of its location. Well, when I walked into the computer room it sounded like it was coming from the bedroom ... so then I walked into the bedroom and now it sounded like it was coming from the computer room. After walk and back half a dozen times, I fell on the floor cracking up. Yoni came to see what was so funny .... Well, lo and behold the phone was in the waist of my skirt the whole time...
That being said, we are quite excited for relaxing meals just the two of us, and a good calm day tomorrow of learning and rest.
Now an update on this last month that's kept us so busy...
(in a nutshell)
A wonderful Shavuot in Dallas, where Sandy and Libby are becoming fast friends:
Home for two days, then off to Baltimore/Columbia/DC/New York. We spent two days down in DC. I spent time with all of my friends from college. Yoni came for some of those dates, and spent some of the other DC time visiting the AFROTC detachment at University of Maryland and checking in with a lot of the music stores in the area which he used to frequent. We spent some good family time in Columbia, had a wonderful Shabbat in Pikesville, then drove up to NYC Sunday morning to get all settled into our Brooklyn hotel and go to AJ and Zoe's wedding. The wedding was beautiful. The venue, an old opera house, is exquisite!
Besides the wedding itself, I also had a good time staying in Boro Park. It's been a while since we ventured out there. It's quite the experience with lots of thought-provoking observations. Anyone who's never been to Boro Park, it is reminiscent of Meah Shearim in an American setting. Anyone who's never been to Meah Shearim ... picture New York streets packed wall to wall with lots of chareidi families. Even more than that, every single storefront is a Kosher restaurant or something having to do with Jewish life. Quite a contrast to Enid, Oklahoma.
We came home after a week, the following Wednesday. We had Thursday to reunite with Libby (who was being watched at home by the Wing Commander's high school-age children), unpack, repack, and then head off Friday morning down to Dallas. We spent a nice quiet Shabbat there, and then Sunday afternoon went to Shimon and Karen's wedding. Yoni's family has known Karen's family for a while in Dallas, and we also knew Shimon from Hopkins/Pickwick in Baltimore. Their wedding was the first that we've attended at Ohr Hatorah (the congregation in Dallas with a near brand-new building). Everything was gorgeous, and more importantly, they are a very cute couple and it was fun to watch the whole ocassion. On Friday, Yoni got recruited to accompany Chaim Lazarus in the singing under the chupah. They did a wonderful job:
All day I've been going back and forth from the computer room working on homework to the kitchen to check on food to the bedroom to change the sheets, etc. So anyone who knows me knows that my phone has already been misplaced a few times throughout the day. I wanted to make a call, so I asked Yoni if he has seen my phone. Of course he says, "I've seen it many times, but you've probably moved it a few times since then." So I proceeded to pick up the house phone and dial my number. After first dialing my old cell phone which has been out of service for six months, I dial the correct number, hear the ring, and start around the house in search of its location. Well, when I walked into the computer room it sounded like it was coming from the bedroom ... so then I walked into the bedroom and now it sounded like it was coming from the computer room. After walk and back half a dozen times, I fell on the floor cracking up. Yoni came to see what was so funny .... Well, lo and behold the phone was in the waist of my skirt the whole time...
That being said, we are quite excited for relaxing meals just the two of us, and a good calm day tomorrow of learning and rest.
Now an update on this last month that's kept us so busy...
(in a nutshell)
A wonderful Shavuot in Dallas, where Sandy and Libby are becoming fast friends:
Home for two days, then off to Baltimore/Columbia/DC/New York. We spent two days down in DC. I spent time with all of my friends from college. Yoni came for some of those dates, and spent some of the other DC time visiting the AFROTC detachment at University of Maryland and checking in with a lot of the music stores in the area which he used to frequent. We spent some good family time in Columbia, had a wonderful Shabbat in Pikesville, then drove up to NYC Sunday morning to get all settled into our Brooklyn hotel and go to AJ and Zoe's wedding. The wedding was beautiful. The venue, an old opera house, is exquisite!
Besides the wedding itself, I also had a good time staying in Boro Park. It's been a while since we ventured out there. It's quite the experience with lots of thought-provoking observations. Anyone who's never been to Boro Park, it is reminiscent of Meah Shearim in an American setting. Anyone who's never been to Meah Shearim ... picture New York streets packed wall to wall with lots of chareidi families. Even more than that, every single storefront is a Kosher restaurant or something having to do with Jewish life. Quite a contrast to Enid, Oklahoma.
We came home after a week, the following Wednesday. We had Thursday to reunite with Libby (who was being watched at home by the Wing Commander's high school-age children), unpack, repack, and then head off Friday morning down to Dallas. We spent a nice quiet Shabbat there, and then Sunday afternoon went to Shimon and Karen's wedding. Yoni's family has known Karen's family for a while in Dallas, and we also knew Shimon from Hopkins/Pickwick in Baltimore. Their wedding was the first that we've attended at Ohr Hatorah (the congregation in Dallas with a near brand-new building). Everything was gorgeous, and more importantly, they are a very cute couple and it was fun to watch the whole ocassion. On Friday, Yoni got recruited to accompany Chaim Lazarus in the singing under the chupah. They did a wonderful job:
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