When the Going Gets…

February 7, 2020 ~ arosebyanyothername2016 ~ Leave a comment

In this week’s Torah portion we read one of our favorite verses:”And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam sang unto them: Sing ye to the LORD, for He is highly exalted…”

No explanation is required: women took part because women ARE a part Of life, society and religion. Ailments are lonely and isolating. It is you and your problem sitting together all day long. The healing process is disturbingly confusing. A little passive, a little aggressive. You protect the queen at any cost as she holds direct access to the king who is the panacea to your troubles. I believe in artifacts, i.e. feathers, dimes, angelic signals that become ever-present and serve as comfort during the most difficult of times. An Angel, whispering a head’s up to look this way and listen up. This time the queen is sitting in the center square and the king is nowhere in sight. You flirt with the queen in an attempt to divert her attention as you try to gain entrance through the front door. You know all the while in a wizard of ozesque fashion you need to open the curtain at any cost. So just for today I trust a feather will float in my path and tell me where the opening in the curtain is. My reservoir of strength kicks into fast forward as I hit the ground running away from just another day – not at the park.

Papa can you hear me?

January 22, 2020 ~ arosebyanyothername2016 ~ 3 Comments

Mama -look what’s going on in our world -remember the advice you gave me that had the story about good luck/bad luck – I understand now.

Eight Grand- Children Strong

January 22, 2020January 22, 2020 ~ arosebyanyothername2016 ~ Leave a comment

Sometimes all it takes is 20 minutes of insane courage for something great to happen. The 8 ball- eight card fit- eight hands playing at the table – 8 is enough- Dinner at 8- 18 is chai – . Eight heart stealing Gomberg kid’s . One thing the number 8 symbolizes is the ability to make decisions. With a history of parents who got a babysitter and then drove around trying to decide where to go and what to do- I have taken my primordial history and flipped it. Date book in hand, organize the games, get the tickets and not letting ontogeny recapitulate phylogeny. And I quote- Be decisive right or wrong. Make a decision. The road of life is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make decisions-end quote- author unknown.

The Pythagoreans called the number eight “Ogdoad” and considered it the “little holy number”. Number 8 – let’s make it great!

2020

December 17, 2019 ~ arosebyanyothername2016 ~ 3 Comments

Forecast 2020 and Sunny with a chance of Nostalgia on the side.
Summertime and the living is easy, fish are jumping and the cotton is high. After A Hard Day’s Night – I want Breakfast at Tiffany’s with a Splendor in the Grass chaser. As I approach the Autumn of my Youth- I ask “What kind of fool am I?” “I want to come home to you and find the things that you do will make me feel alright”ah! Paul . So as we roll out the hazy, lazy, crazy days of summer, the days of soda and pretzels and beer, (well maybe Tito’s), I’d like to go to the”drive- in on Friday nights.” As we see the pyramids along the Nile, standing near “Moon River” we feel grateful to be out of the “heat wave.” Could this be magic, as the lion sleeps tonight in the jungle, the mighty jungle? Who knows, could be it’s only just out of reach down the block, on a beach, under a tree. Tonight? We call on wishful thinking as we put on our yellow polka dot bikini and set our sights on the beach boys. We find ourselves dancing in the streets, eating icicles, popsicles and simply remember our favorite things. Are there lilac trees in the heart of town. Can your hear a lark in any other part of town? Does enchantment pour out of every door no it’s just on the street where you live. Wouldn’t you like to ride in my beautiful balloon? We can sing a song and sail along the silver sky we can fly, we can fly. Girl, I heard you’re getting married, heard you’re getting married this time you’re really sure. So, we’re going to the chapel of love. Love summer weddings. We are the lucky ones, some people never get to do all we got to do, now and forever I will always think of you. It only takes a moment for your eyes to meet and then it only takes a moment to be loved a whole life long. So let’s get those good vibrations, cause G- d only knows at any point, in the still of the night – tomorrow may rain so I’ll follow the sun.

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Melancholy and Marvelous

December 14, 2019 ~ arosebyanyothername2016 ~ 1 Comment

As I often theme my writing with the concept of “just do it now” I am traditionally reflecting back on the year just lived. Some days our get up and go is pro forma. Our time to make the donuts occurs in a knee jerk fashion. Some days our knee jerks. My Bubby Chicken, for those in the know- phrased the difficult times with a “just look away mamala.” Oh Bubby I believe now more then ever that your schmaltze and sugar laden food added wisdom to your 95 years. You didn’t exercise, but you never sat down. You worked the majority of your life and when you stopped formally working you worked at whatever you did. As you gathered your loved ones around the table, your emotional nutrition sustained us and your cooking created memories that still linger. We talk about your baking as treasures. We reminisce about your traditions and the intensity is still palpable. How lucky my sisters and cousins were to have Our Bubby Chicken. So at this time of year, as we turn our calendars forward, why not exhume your Grandma, Grammy or Bubby memories. Hanging with her babies and watching them grow into themselves was her Pilates, her group therapy and our legacy. So Bub, here’s to our days gone by. We carry you in our hearts and tapping into your Sechel gives us reasons to believe especially when we loose our way. When we played musical chairs and the music stopped, you pulled over one extra chair so we all stayed in the game. And by the way I spend more time “looking the other way,” as my knee jerks.

Let us Grandparent you- Curriculum Vitae!

November 28, 2019October 20, 2020 ~ arosebyanyothername2016 ~ 1 Comment

Let Us Grandparent You- Curriculum Vitae

Full service grandchild care- services include – pick ups and drop offs- after school activities in family friendly, child proof home. Full supplies available for afternoon of fun. We sport 600 magna tiles, Hundreds of planes, trains and automobiles. Dolls, stuffed animals and sticker books galore. Includes, varied snacks and apple juice. Easy dinner if you are working late. Example -veggie nuggets and penne with pasta sauce secreto a la Gino’s style- a big hit Very Special made with Love. We offer art lessons-and school art project help. We instruct in mixed media, collage, design your own place mats, write a short story. We’ll escort your child to hockey, tennis lessons, basketball, ballet gymnastics and always cheer from the sidelines. As experienced gardeners we offer instructions in basic planting on our terrace. Overnight to sunflowers. All ages welcomed. 14 plus years, full time, hands on experience. References upon request- includes reviews from satisfied and happy to return often clients.

Call us – it couldn’t hurt. 1-800 Grand-Parents for The Win. Best gig ever.

Positions available- experience in LOVING children. Our motto “we wish this on everyone.”

It’s a Wrap! Rap lin manuel in the house

November 27, 2019 ~ arosebyanyothername2016 ~ Leave a comment

And so the crowd consisted of you with me along

It could have been the three of us as he fine tuned our song

The stage was set, we sat back in our seat

We could have been sitting in a meet and greet.

As the evening unfolded with an Amy and Donna shout out

We got a real good taste of what we are all about

Friends from days of school and sitting side by side

Our story they were telling with a “who knew” from far and wide

As the sister theme popped-up from a woman to our left

Our theme continued, we’re amongst the best!

Schoolmates and sisters with 72nd street we share

As long as we walk together, we’ll have no fear

Pooling history and devotion, strolled down too many aisles to count

Adding layers upon layers as our story it does mount

Chalked up our differences and taken them in stride

As we’re rounding 56 we got forever on our side.

Add a pinch of Melancholy and Stir up Marvelous

November 4, 2019 ~ arosebyanyothername2016 ~ Leave a comment

My mother loved FOOD- shopping, unpacking, organizing the refrigerator, preparing, cooking, eating, wrapping leftovers, eating, cleaning out the refrigerator, eating some more. She studied food and became a dietItian. Studied some more and with her masters degree was titled nutritionist. Then she earned an M.S.W. in social work at the age of 50. I think she wanted to figure out through research why food was always top of mind.

We relied on radishes cleaned and in (Tupperware) with French dressing as an after school snack. Sometimes I opted for a can of Buitoni Ravioli, yum as I think about it now.

We waited around and did homework until dinner. We came to expect something breaded, something fried, with Le Seur Peas and a baked sweet potato. We looked forward to broiled baby lamp chops- we still do. The standard appetizer was a salad of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and carrots shredded on top. Our cabinets were filled with one or more of Hostess-snowballs, cupcakes, twinkies, drakes ring dings and yodels. Wasn’t yours? Euphoric gastronomic recall. Mom saved the Lindt Chocolate for her card games.

As the culinary seed was planted I waited for it to sprout into my type of cuisine. I too, love food.

However, everything else around it also delights. I have an extensive salt and pepper shaker collection. Through the years I’ve collected sets from places I’ve traveled to. Antiquing added some of the silver and glass ensembles. My most valued treasures are the sets that were thoughtful and hand picked gifts from family and friends.

Betty Boop and Harley Davidson hang out in my cabinet together and are often called on to add extra flavor and put smiles on our faces. Dishes, silverware, vases and amber glass anything, offer flare to my visual hobby. With flowers arranged in one bud vases and table settings in place, we decant the wine and add it to the palette. My collection of soupcons , mine are (petite silver serving ladles), Merriam Webster defines the term as “a touch, a dash a small amount, an inkling.” I first saw a collection at an antique fair in Paris and added them to mine.

A piece of advice handed down to my from a wise, older friend was that collecting things you love and having hobbies that help bring you to full expression helps to add grace and delight to your world. Yes and Yes!

Shopping for ingredients and researching the best mozzarella and fleur verte, a favorite past time. We align seats for comfort and space as we add to the canvas. As we double check that the creases in the napkins are well pressed in our Downton Abbey moment, we fill the water glasses 3/4 full. Then the final touches- lighting candles and setting up the ice on the bar next to the olives, lemon and lime slices. All the time while paying attention to details, the flames on the oven are on low and I check my ” something breaded, something fried.” I learned from The Best.

Another opening, another show…My Fair Ladies

October 26, 2019October 26, 2019 ~ arosebyanyothername2016 ~ 1 Comment

With fabulous spirits we danced the “oh, what a night away.” One more evening of “will you dance with me? The music started before we got there. As I put on eyeshadow and lip gloss I listened to Julie Andrews crooning to “On the Street Where You Live” and knew then “I could have “danced all night.” And we did! With our history of forever dance floors we stepped out, turned on our inner souls and boogie, oogie, oogied. A little, vodka and some rack of lamb was the precursor to watching you both devour the bones and leave the meat and potatoes behind. It’s always amazing when I learn the same lesson twice. Last evening I was reminded how I will always have a song in my heart for you, as you both occupy a large part of it. The music may have stopped, but our melody lingers on.🙏

I ❤️♠️♣️♦️Canasta

October 14, 2019 ~ arosebyanyothername2016 ~ 1 Comment

So many of the old adages are now living at my front door. Cliches that I never got, couldn’t internalize or just wasn’t ready for have now come into play with regularity. Fortuitously, they serve as the bettor at our Mah-jongg table and the leathered decorated card turner at our Canasta games. More forgiving and grateful, less of a focus on verbalizing differences seems to be our new posture. We sit down and the magic occurs. First game out we adjust our seat, call on our strategy and throw the dice or deal the cards. We leave so much more to chance. No more rebuffing what is, just fact and acceptance feel like the right paths to take. We flinch at the first interference in our game of Life–and in turn almost welcome it. A phone call from a friend’s daughter sharing the joy over their daughter’s ballet recital is typical. An interruption because the decorator went to the wrong place, perhaps. The bell ringing when the handyman comes to prepare the terrace for planting. We pool our woes and share our joys. We take home the name of a good dermatologist and flatter one another when we admire a new pair of very cool boots. Are we the lucky ones who have turned happenstance into “sheer” delight?

My parents had an activity with their weekly Canasta group called “Coffee and…” I am now getting that the “and” was so much more than chocolate bridge mix or babka. Yes mama, I’m counting sevens and aces, remembering to take the Talon and looking three cards back not to throw the deck.

I love our “and.” When I was younger and had a piece of chicken. I would eat the wings last. I savored the best for then. I now sit down to our chicken lunch and go for the wings first. I rush thru my broccoli and cheddar omelette just to get the cards in my hands. I know that the real reason I enjoy our games so, is because they recapitulate my parents activity of continuity. Well here’s to so many more days of Mah Jongg, Canasta “And.”

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arosebyanyothername2016

Judy Gomberg puts a funny, heartfelt and humorous spin on being a boomer. She beautifully captures the songs of our lives as our memories grow longer, deeper and stronger.

Author: arosebyanyothername2016

When the Going Gets…

Papa can you hear me?

Eight Grand- Children Strong

2020

Melancholy and Marvelous

Let us Grandparent you- Curriculum Vitae!

Let Us Grandparent You- Curriculum Vitae

It’s a Wrap! Rap lin manuel in the house

Add a pinch of Melancholy and Stir up Marvelous

Another opening, another show…My Fair Ladies

I ❤️♠️♣️♦️Canasta

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