We had wonderful friends over for Shabbos and, as is our wont, we mother fell into the sacred ritual of bemoaning our parenting foibles.

"Do you also go through kippas (skullcaps) like they're disposable?" she asks me. I groan in empathy.

"Does your son go through a pair of tzitzis (four-cornered garments with fringes) every month because he bites off the strings?" I kvetch.

"No, actually," she admits. Truth is, my kids don't really lose their kippas either; I was just trying to be polite :-). Hmmmm..... This short exchange prompted me to look at lost yarmulkas and gnawed-at tzitizs in light of the greater picture of life's challenges. What one person suffers from, the other person simply breezes over, and vice versa. What's more, God tailors specific challenges for specific people, equipping them with the means for dealing with them properly. And most importantly, every person's unique challenge is fully justified in feeling that their challenge is challenging--even if their next-door neighbor seems to be dealing with something Herculean in comparison.

There's a neat little sigh of relief for me in contemplating this phenomenon. Yeah, it's frustrating to replace yet another little pair of tzitzis. But it would really bug me to scrounge around for lost yarmulkes every morning! Most of the time, in acknowledging our tzuress (challenges), I think we'd rather keep our own than trade with the next guy. What do you think? 

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