me for about 25 years at that time. She has studied how to give massages. When Christine went to work on me it was like a miracle. She relaxed whatever it was that had tightened up so badly. Christine is unusual- ly fast; what she can accomplish in a few hours would take someone else much longer. She is at work at our place at 6 AM until 12 PM five days a week. On her own time she has become a certi- fied manicurist, pedicurist, facialist and masseuse. She is amazing. After 35 years Christine left us. Both she and her husband were ill. She was like a member of our family and we still stay in touch. MY ROLE As I tell these stories I often wonder about myself. How do I fit into this family drama? What is my role? Is it important? Who needs the opinions of an eighty-eight year old woman? Have I made a difference? I suppose we all ask ourselves these questions. It seems to me that we don’t have to have an “important” job to be important. I have bandaged many a scraped knee and held many a sick child. I know that each of my children has a strong sense of right and wrong. I know how much they love each other and their family. I had no idea how to create children like mine and Herman’s when we started out. But they say if things turn out right, you did the right thing. MY 75TH BIRTHDAY One of the happiest days of my life was my 75th birthday. We all went to the Marriott Hotel on the beach in Fort Lauderdale. Our whole family went there for the entire week- end. On Saturday, after spending our day at the beach, Liz and Diane and I went to the beauty parlor at the hotel. It was the worst hairdo I ever got. Afterward we all went to our rooms to get dressed for the evening. I was sure the kids were throwing a party for me and all my friends and relatives would be there. That is what I anticipated. I was so excited. I told Herman as we were walking down the corridor that when we opened the door to the room we were heading toward we were going to find everyone there. When we opened the door it was the biggest surprise of my whole life. Rabbi Gold was there and our immediate family – our four children, their spouses, and 14 grandchildren .
himself across the forehead and shouted, “Gott sei dank! That was some surgery.” However, during the surgery the doctor found still another aneurysm in Herman’s stom- ach. That one they monitored for four years until we all went back to Houston again for a repeat performance. That one was also successful. You think that you are grateful for each other every day but it takes something like these life threatening events to really focus your atten- tion on just how important we are to each other. Herman is much too special to lose and the surgeons who enabled us to keep him with us have my lifelong gratitude. HOME HEALTH CARE A while back I don’t know what happened to me but I had a severe muscle problem in my back. I was flat on the floor of my bedroom and couldn’t move even a fraction of an inch. I told Herman to call 911 because I had to go to the hospital. Wendy came over and I don’t know how she did it but she got me to roll over onto a quilt and pulled me to the master bathroom. I was still on the floor unable to move at all. Just before they called 911 I thought of Christine. Christine has worked for Herman surrounded by his family in a modern illustrated man- uscript setting. Frank and Mike holding cell phones, Wendy and Dorothy praying. Stephen holding the banner, “To Life.” Drawing by Stephen Shooster.
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