In an effort to do real teshuvah (repentance) for not having blogged in so long I am trying to be extra-prolific. I know you're all proud.

I think what I have in me best lends itself to an unstructured poem. Here goes:

Last night I met
A woman, serene
Eyes clear, fruit of a mind
Calm
And she stood
And she smiled
And she said
Like dew, like rain, like a fresh morning sun,
"Wherever I am
I am happy."
And the wind of her words
Struck full force
For rare is the one
Who can hold the power
In  hand
So effortlessly, artlessly, greatly
The power
To simply be.

I find it difficult to be; it is much easier to do. There is a yawning chasm between the two. Do you get me?

Well, I've got to first apologize for taking so long to post to this blog. Not sure if I was AWOl or MIA, but the fact is it's entirely shameful. I am resolving to do better, bli neder.

Firstly, here's a link to a sweet little Shavuos piece on Aish.com:
http://www.aish.com/shavuotthemes/shavuotthemesdefault/Renewing_Our_Vows.asp

And now, a little thought on perspective. Y'know how they say the glass is half-full or half-empty, depending on how you see it? The more I reflect on that maxim, the more I realize how true it is. Attitude (Perspective's snappier, more active twin brother) accounts for so much. Disappointment or triumph? It's all in the attitude. Bad or good? Depends on the outlook.

Is it a flopped cake, or the makings of a delicious trifle? Did I miss the plane or did I get a chance to sit in the airport and write a long, satisfying journal entry? Perspatitude is the prism through which we filter all experience; it can come out a rainbow or it can cause a mood to go up in smoke.

So on Friday, we were getting ready for Shabbos and my yummy, delicious five-year-old, Akiva, says; "Look, Mommy!" He's excited. I look. He's pointing to a manic fly trapped between the sliding door and the screen door of our living room.

"What am I looking at?" I ask him, probably with my arms totally enveloped in challah dough, but that could just be a stylistic exaggeration cuz Friday was, like, a whole three days ago.

"It's our pet fly!" he says.

Is perspective everything, or what?