Saturday, July 7, 2012

I feel blessed

Having contact with the following generations, gives me the feeling of continuity and belonging. The inter-generation relationship is not self understood. It needs to be developed and worked at. Recently I participated at an inter-generation drama workshop.
We were eight holocaust survivors and eight young people doing their alternative army service. The two groups were strangers to each other. We had to get to know each other, by talking with each other. Half way through the season, the drama counselor announced that we will give four performances at the local community center. The counselor had written the script according to what we had learned one from the other during our weekly sessions. In the end the performance was in pairs or mixed groups showing the inter-generation relationship. My part was about sharing my computer skill and dancing with my partner and my stroller. The performance was enjoyed by the audience as well as by the actors.

Last week I was lucky to be part of a spontaneous birthday celebration of the grandfather with a family who usually invite me for the Shabbat meal. The grandchildren dressed up and mimicked their grandfather's behavior towards them on his birthday. There was a lot of humor, laughter.  Plain enjoyment was had by all.

This week, the extended family gathered at Chavat Eyal, the animal farm in Kibbutz Ramat Rachel for the fourth birthday of one of my many great-grandchildren. My granddaughter had roped in aunts and uncles as well as the child's grandparents (my daughter and son in law) in order to perform for the children the story from a children's book about the arrival of a new edition to the family. They were all dressed up as animals and came to inspect that funny new creature, until the birthday child dressed up as a lion explained to them that that was his new brother. It was a gorgeous and funny performance. There was more laughter than acting.
It is always a treat for me to be with the ever growing extended four generation family that I am blessed with.
My son Danny makes sure to take me wherever I would like to be. He just packs my stroller into his jeep and heaves me in. Without him I would miss out on a lot of fun.