ISAACS FAMLY NEWSLETTER August 30, 2020

Newsletter 2.0

“Next generation” technologies are a big thing. Think 3G, 4G and 5G (“G” stands for “Generation”) and concepts like “Web 2.0” which express a new level of progress and innovation – real or, just as often, imagined. This newsletter is truly the first in a new generation. And not because of a dazzling interactive user experience or artificial intelligence algorithms. Nope. It is simply and literally a next gen newsletter because we are thrilled to announce the arrival of the next gen of Isaacs’s – our first grand-daughter “Dori”, born to proud parents Leetal and Elon on August 10, (20^th of Av) which makes Judy and me grandparents and the rest of our bunch uncles and aunts.  Now that is progress! Mazal tov to us all and to Great Grandmother Boobie Barbara.

At this point I must share (again?) a memory of my father. Our firstborn Ari promoted him from father to grandfather. When repeatedly asked by well-wishers a well-intentioned but somewhat banal question “What’s it like to be a grandfather?” he would answer, with characteristic disarming wisdom,  “It gives one a sense of continuity”.

The magic of childbirth

Let me just set the record straight. Dori is the most beautiful, adorable, darling little thing you have ever seen. We pop over there the whole time to visit and Elon and Leetal send us photos and videos every day. Last week, as I sat with Judy, she watched a video Leetal sent seven times one time right after the other (that is not an exaggeration). And that was while I was watching.  I assume she watched it several more time afterwards. )Note from Judy: I watched it a hundred times!).

Parenthood suits Elon and Leetal. It is fun to watch them doing the things that young parents do like deciding whether Dori is too hot or too cold (all mothers seem to have an instinctive biological baby thermometer) and debating if she needs to eat and sleep. We all know how hard it is to have a newborn in the house. This week Elon issued a warning to his as yet uninitiated siblings in these very words: “It’s not a myth. You really don’t sleep all night”. 

I recall emotionally that when Ari was about three, my father bought a big box of magic tricks to perform and amaze his grandchild. Unfortunately, I won’t have that option, as Dori, with Elon as a father, by that age will no doubt already know how to saw people in half.

Hard as it is, I have to stop rabbiting on about Dori, as I have a whole family to update you on.

British weather

We tell our children horror stories of British weather. But, as you know, a picture (or a whatsapp) is worth 1000 words. Ari sent pics from a beach in Cornwall where he is spending his hols. My sabra kids were horrified to see everyone on the beach dressed in jumpers, hats and long trousers, while the sea was barely visible in the distance 500 meters from the beach, and the sky was so cloudy, neither sun nor sky were visible. And that was Cornwall. Scotland was ten times worse.

A fully deserved “Glida Golda”

When we have something to celebrate, we don’t open champagne; we go to “Glida Golda” which is an ice-cream and frozen yoghurt parlour chain with a branch nearby in Rosh Ha’Ayin. Elisheva, who is particularly fond of Kinder Bueno, Hershey’s and Oreo Cookie flavours, always has an eye out for a reason, however tenuous, for a family outing to Glida Golda. First, she checks her own achievements like passing her driving theory test or becoming a madricha. When those don’t impress her stingy parents, she looks further afield like Dori’s one week birthday party or Daddy successfully rewiring a plug (which admittedly is a rarity). All are, in her eyes, sufficient cause for ice-cream celebration.

This summer she absolutely earned a “Glida Golda” by completing her special maths program and passing her 5-points bagrut (“A-level/matriculation level) at the end of 10^th grade (two years early) with a grade of…wait for it…100! Well done Elisheva! An outstanding feat. And we are truly proud of your achievement and perseverance. Covid19 converted the family “outing” to a family “ordering in” but the “Glida Golda” was delicious and Elisheva was radiant.

Tiktok

In April I told you of Abigail’s hobby of dancing “Tiktoks”. This seems to have caused one hell of a ripple because not two months later Donald Trump is insisting that Microsoft, Oracle, Twitter and Walmart buy out Tiktok in the US. I had no idea my newsletters hit the oval office with that impact, so from now on I will be much more careful what I write.

In the meantime, the return to work despite Covid19 and the pressure of her new job in her national service has robbed Abigail of the opportunity to record more Tiktoks. But the Chinese know that already.

Next door neighbours

We are blessed that our three married couples live relatively close to home. Orly and Chen have taken this to the extreme moving from a flat that was 6 minutes’ walk away, to one that is 6 seconds away! Literally. They are closer than next door. They are living in our “granny flat”.

Neighbours warned us against this. They told horror stories of parents and children who argued and even stopped speaking after living so close. What can I tell you? For us, it is a wonderful arrangement. We see the couple the whole time. They come by to chat, or to invite us for a stroll in the evening, or to check out what’s on offer in our fridge. And it works both ways. One evening this month when Judy was away camping with the girls and I was on my own, Orly and Chen invited me for a delicious supper. Right now, I wish I had 6 little flats to house all our children that close for ever.

“If you have nothing worthwhile to say, then keep it shut”

Various people have given me this advice on various occasions during my life. The above is one of the gentler wordings.  I quote this in the context of Naphtali and Adi. After racking my brains for something new to write about them and coming up with zilch, I called Naphtali and asked him for some ideas and inspiration. Naphtali racked his own brains and also came up blank. “Nothing new of interest has happened in your lives in the last three months?” I enquired. “No” he answered after some consideration. Straight and to the point as always. So, there we have it. I have nothing  new to share with you about Naphtali and Adi. But at least I found a way to fill a paragraph telling you so.

 

Keep safe and well and lots of love from

Boobie Judy, Grandpa Michael (I refuse to be “Zeide” and Judy refuses to be anything but “Boobie”), Daddy Elon, Uncles Ari and Naphtali, and Aunties Orly, Abigail and Elisheva Isaacs

Elkana