Mother of a soldier

Before........................... ..........After

That's my new status and I'm trying to get used to it . This Monday , Shir started her military service . My husband and I drove her and a giant backpack to Beer Sheva , where she got on a bus as a teenager and the next time I saw her in her uniform , 5 days later she was a soldier!!! Lots of crying over the phone every night, well the nights they were finished their activity at a decent time and were allowed to call.... She is doing Tironot , (basic training) , at a military base only 10 minutes south of Ashkelon , but we are not allowed to visit her during the week. They sleep in tents in this unbelievable heat , the food is... well , military food , showers they get to do... well , not every night , what can I say , nothing like home ! When she got off the bus Friday at the central station, in her uniform I hugged her and we both cried .I then looked at her and felt very proud of her . It's just the begining , 3 more weeks to go . Next Shabat she'll have to stay in the base so we'll come to visit , cheer her up and bring some home cooking food ( not my cooking, don't worry ....) It's hard to get how one minute she is your baby and in a such a short time she becomes IDF's property for the next 2 years !

Sigal

Barzilai Hospital's Therapeutic Garden

Today we visited the Therapeutic Garden at Barzilai Medical Center.

The Therapeutic Garden was built with an allocation from the partnership of $50,000, together with similar donations from a donor from England, and from Bituach Leumi.

The Therapeutic Garden complex includes a petting zoo, a small enclosed basketball court, a playground and a greenhouse. Children aged 6-18, who have problems, study at the Center for children and adolescents at the hospital. Apart from their therapy sessions and studies they are allowed closely supervised play time in the calming environment of the therapeutic garden.

The Center serves children from Ashkelon with various emotional and physical difficulties. There are individual treatments for them at the petting zoo and greenhouse. Shaul Vardi, the main therapist at the center is the man behind this project and thanks to the Baltimore Ashkelon Partnership, he was able to to make his dream come true.

There are corners for the children to play, rest, pet and feed the animals and grow plants, all as part of their therapy. The different elements of the center are set in a lovely garden setting. The center was officially opened with a formal ceremony 2 weeks ago. While we were there a group of children had their break. They played , rested and were very happy. We only took pictures of the facilities because of the children's privacy.

See more photos HERE

Diller Teen Fellows Summer 2009

It's a hot and busy month in Ashkelon, with delegations arriving one after the other. Tonight our Diller teens joyfully welcomed their Baltimore friends to Ashkelon and together everyone enjoyed dinner at the Suissa home. Tomorrow the teens start a busy schedule, of fun and volunteering.

See the photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/nikirose/DillerSummer2009#

More photos will be added to the same album.....

See more photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/nikirose/DillerSummer2009#

Campaign Chairs visit Ashkelon

Mayor Benny Vaknin welcomes THE ASSOCIATED's 2010 Campaign Chairs, Sandy Shapiro and Alyson Meister, and Janis Bormel to Ashkelon. Along with more than 100 other lay and professional leaders from 32 communities they are in Israel for the annual UJC -Jewish Federations of North America Campaign Chairs and Directors Mission, which helps launch the Federation system’s Annual Campaign

Moms On A Mission - photos online

There are three albums of "Moms on a Mission" photos online:

1. http://picasaweb.google.com/nikirose/MomsOnAMission#

2. http://picasaweb.google.com/nikirose/MomsMission7July2009#

3. http://picasaweb.google.com/nikirose/MomSMission89July2009Last2Days#

All photos can be freely downloaded.

Enjoy!

Moms on a Mission - First night in Ashkelon

We have just arrived back from a wonderful evening in Ashkelon Park, with the Ashkelon Moms and Baltimore Moms, tired but happy!

The Baltimore Moms arrived in Ashkelon after a VERY early start this morning (4:00 am) and a full day at Masada and the Dead Sea, but still full of energy and enjoying themselves. It was a beautiful evening, on the cliff overlooking the sea. The Moms greeted each other with hugs, Leslie got things going with an ice-breaker activity involving an orange Koosh ball, and then it was down to the beach for martial arts and tai chi opposite the setting sun.

Supper was houmus (of course) and pootjie stew (cast-iron pots - slow-cooked on the campfire) with rice and fresh veggies, and then watermelon and homemade chocolate cake and cookies (Liron's mom Shulanit's handiwork) washed down with lemonade, and wine.

Hadar Madnick introduced herself and led some games (she'll be in Baltimore with Natan Mish to replace Tal & Liron as the second pair of shinshinim or "young emissaries"). Leslie ended off the evening with a singalong.

None of this description conveys the wonderful atmosphere, the warm hugs, the mutual smiles, and the non-stop talking and bonding. There is no doubt that our Moms have already made an incredible connection, and this is only their first meeting!

See more photos from this first evening in Ashkelon's beautiful National Park at sunset:

http://picasaweb.google.com/nikirose/MomsOnAMission#

Nicole