My Grandson, Elie Lev Cohen

I thought that this blog posting would be the easiest one to write because of the joy and love I feel for our first grandchild, Elie Lev Cohen. But I was wrong. Sometimes one is so filled with emotions that mere words cannot describe the intense feelings of love, pride, and joy. I never thought it was possible to equal the feelings I had when our children were born, but the news of Elie's arrival and the first time I held him were two of the most powerful moments of my life.

Elie was born on January 17, 2011. Numerically, that is a pretty cool date...11711...eleven -seven-eleven. Seven or Eleven is the desirable roll of the dice, on the coming out roll, when you are playing the pass line in craps (as I always do!). He weighed in at one-half ounce shy of 8 pounds and a healthy 20 inches. And, did I mention that he is absolutely gorgeous? He is definitely his Father's son as baby pictures of Brad could be mistaken for Elie!

We've just returned from a wonderful week visiting in Baltimore and I can't wait until we go back! It was very special celebrating his first Shabbat. And it was truly a blessing to have four generations of Cohen's there to celebrate!














The Bris and welcoming of Elie into the community was outstanding and was highlighted by Brad and Claire's wishes for their son. With their permission, I am posting it below:

Our Dearest Elie:

Chickey Monkey, Chickey dough, Cookie Monkey, Little Bubba, Elie-belly, Elie-bean, Smelly Elie, Levvie......these are only some of the endearing names you'll be called. But today, we wanted to take a moment to explain to you the significance of your given name, Elie Lev Cohen.

Although to us you will always be Chickey Monkey, your first name is Elie. There have been some important Elie's in the world including, Elie Wiesel, Elijah the prophet, and Elie Zarem, your Aunt Lisa's first boyfriend. The name Elie literally means "high", "ascended" or "my god". Our hope for you is that you always strive for big dreams and have the confidence to be your best and highest Elie. We hope that you have the strength, heart and ability to impact the world in your own creative and unique way.

Your middle name and Hebrew name is Lev. Lev is short for your Emmie's family name, Levitch. Your great grandmother, Ruth, who would have loved to be here today and have you call her Bubbe, carried the Levitch name with Yiddishkeit & joy. She loved to laugh .. may you smile with her lips. Lev in Hebrew means heart. May you have the love in your heart of Bubbe Ruth. May you have the strength, determination and wit of your great grandmother, Nana. May you appreciate music as did your great grandma Sylvia. May you give of yourself, as did your great, great grandmother, Mimi, who at the age of 90 volunteered at an old-aged home. May you cherish and value family with warmth and care, just like your Poppi & Sharon.

Know that you are loved so much by so many. Know that you are blessed to be surrounded with such incredible support and affection. Know that you are so lucky to have such kvelling grandparents; Saba, Grams and Mumah.

A doctor, a lawyer, a rabbi, an educator, a chef, an artist, a football player or even a garbage collector.....we wish for you that whatever your passion, you follow your dreams with integrity and find happiness in all that you do. We love you, Elie.

One of the great things about having a grandchild is that my son now can truly understand the depth of love that Connie and I have always had for him and his sister. But, he also has to understand that per Saba (grandfather) rule number one, I will always side with Elie!!





And The Journey continues..........

The World's Neediest Dog

There have always been pets around. Growing up, we always had a dog in the family. My early childhood pet was Boots, a Heinz 57 variety mutt that might have been the coolest dog ever. In those days, the dog was only allowed in the house when the weather was absolutely dreadful. Otherwise, she slept outside by the back door. Boots was a tough old bitch. Because she was kept in the fenced-in backyard, chasing cars was just too inviting when she escaped her confines! Hit by cars numerous times, Boots survived albeit with only one eye and several operations. Although Mom always insisted that Boots was "the Boys" dog, we all knew that she was my Mom's dog. Unfortunately, Boots met her demise when, mostly blind, she ran between the front and back tires of a moving car in our driveway. She was followed by Yogi and Candy ....more mutts that considered Mom their master. In between those dogs, there was Jett, a head strong mean German Shepherd that was given away after he bit my younger brother.

Once I was married, we adopted another mutt...Peanut. I say "we" but Peanut was really Connie's dog. Peanut died young and was followed by Sadie, the hero dog. Sadie is generally credited with saving our lives as she woke us up early one morning because our apartment building was on fire. Although we were rescued by firemen with ladders from our 3rd floor apartment, Sadie was nowhere to be found and presumed dead. Two days later, Sadie was found alive in an adjacent wooded area by neighborhood kids. She evidently escaped the fire through the front door and although slight charred, survived to accompany us to our new house in Atlanta, our 4 years in Boston and a few years in Boca Raton. Sadie was a Damn Good Dog whose Master was, again, Connie!

After Sadie's demise, Lisa prodded us into a cocker spaniel pup...Tootsie. After promises from Lisa that she would take care of the new puppy, Tootsie settled into also being Connie's dog! Tootsie lived to a ripe old age and we decided that she would be the last dog that we would own. So, dogless, we babysat Lisa's dog, Kota, for a year while Lisa was in Africa. Kota and I bonded and I was convinced that he had become MY dog and would want to stay with me once Lisa returned. How wrong I was! Lisa walked into our house after 11 months away and Kota immediately returned to her side as if I didn't even exist.

Eight and a half years ago, I was prodded by a friend to go look at a puppy at the animal Shelter in West Palm Beach (a kill shelter-the dogs are euthanized if homes cannot be found). A puppy would be a terrific Mother's Day present for Connie! After almost leaving without a dog, this little 7 week old Australian Shepherd/Black Lab fur ball rubbed against my leg, looked up at me with "take me home" eyes and crawled into my heart. Upon presentation to Connie as her Mother's Day gift, she announced that she didn't want a dog! Uh oh, I guessed that finally, I was the proud Master of a dog. Little did I know that Bella was going to actually be the Master of me.

Bella is the sweetest, smartest and most needy dog in the world. I am convinced that she understands everything I tell her and, in fact, understands hundreds of words. One of her problems is that she doesn't know that she is a dog. She sleeps in our bed and is positive that everybody that comes to the house is there to see her and to play with her. Nearly every morning we start the day together with a 2 to 3 mile walk and then she "rests" most of the afternoon. Bella would much rather interact with humans than with other dogs. In fact, she severely dislikes small dogs - especially those that incessantly yap! When we kept Brad and Claire's dog, Rudy, for the year they were in Israel, Bella loved having a playmate and was depressed when Rudy left. However, she got over that and became convinced that I, rather than other dogs, should be her play pal. She is always around - under my feet at my desk, next to my recliner while we watch TV, curled around my feet in bed, on my chest as my wake-up call, bringing me her ball to throw when I am trying to relax and sitting by the table during meals. If I go upstairs, she goes upstairs...if I go outside, she wants to go with me...and she always wants to go in the car - until we actually go in the car, then she cries the whole time!

Those that meet Bella instantly recognize her needy manner...always wanting to be the center of attention and never giving up easily. Bella is MY dog and I love her. And for that, her middle name is "the last one."

And The Journey continues.......

Goodbye 2010..Hello 2011

At the end of each year, most of the mainstream media publishes their Best of the Year, Top Stories of 2010, Person of The Year, Top Movies, Best Books, Top TV Shows, Sexiest Person, Most Intriguing People, Best Restaurants, Best Images, Sportsman of The Year, and even "Coolest Person of The Year." 2010 has certainly been an interesting year.

In the news, we have suffered through the tragedy in Haiti, reveled in the dramatic rescue of the miners in Chile, endured the midterm elections and all of the hubris of the "Tea Party," despaired over the Gulf Oil Spill, delighted in the engagement of Prince William and Kate, viewed the volcano eruption in Iceland and its effects on worldwide travel, been amazed and even amused by the revelations of WikiLeaks, continued to wonder if the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will ever end, worried over the slow recovery of the worldwide economy, cheered when The Saints won the Super Bowl for a beleaguered New Orleans and watched sports heroes like Tiger and Brett and Clemens and others embarrass themselves and play a disservice to the young that looked up to them. And of course, there was all of the tabloid fodder that seems to creep more and more into our daily lives - Sandra Bullock's marital woes, OctaMom, Heidi Montag's addiction to plastic surgery, the Leno-Conan Tonight Show mess, Oprah's last year, and who the hell is Snooky, anyway? And this list is only a microcosm of the important (and not so important) stories of the year.

Nonetheless, my personal Top Stories of The Year focus on the good stuff...Lisa buys a house in Denver, Brad gets his Masters Degree and lands a great job in Baltimore, and Brad and Claire buy a house in Baltimore. It was also a great year because our little family got to celebrate together several times during the year...first in Mexico to celebrate Brad's graduation, in Boca for Labor Day and my godson's Bar Mitzvah, then in New York to celebrate Connie's Big Birthday, and finally in Atlanta with the entire extended Cohen family for Thanksgiving. In between were trips to visit Lisa in Colorado and visits with Brad and Claire in Baltimore. We also got to go to Atlanta for a wedding and a wonderful week in New Hampshire with close friends.

But the very TOP STORY of the YEAR was the news that Claire and Brad are expecting a baby ...our first grandchild! It was in Mexico that they broke the news to us and we have been counting the days until the blessed event. With a due date of January 10th, the next two weeks will be very exciting!

My New Year's resolution is to focus on the good things.....and let the crap take care of itself! Hello 2011 - nice to have you here!

And The Journey Continues.................