AND SO IT ENDS.......

     And so it ends, the getting out of here on time day after a wonderful week and a half with family and friends. The appreciation of the kids, in both direction, from kids to adults and adults to kids, the wonderful daily adventures even if it turned out more hectic than planned. So what if I need a vacation now from the vacation! Not that that will ever happen, but wishes and dreams, you know!
     Thank the Lord above it was quiet in Israel, several plots foiled and everyone there also had a great time. Even here in the USA there was a bit of a ratcheting down of the political noise as the lines are shifting and people need to figure out where they stand  and where they draw the line. Does one support someone just because that someone is ostensibly a member of your party and yet you disagree on major principles? It is a time when people have to draw their own lines in their own souls and vote with their heads and not the resentments that will create a foolish and perhaps even dangerous vote and end situation.
     Well, just took a two minute break to wake people up so we get to the airport on time. Not fun!!  Trust me, not a thank you or cheery good morning in the lot!!
     What does bother me was the increase in anti Semitic statements coming out of Europe and the rising tide in Britain. The Labour Party is rife with it and the statements coming out of the mouths of leaders!!!! are absolutely medieval in content and intent. Just where and when does it end? Immediately after the holiday of freedom, a holiday where we celebrate our nationhood, we have the challenges all over again. Why, I wonder, is it so difficult for the world to realize that Israel is a Jewish state - and accept that as a fact, an eternal fact. Why is it so difficult to see the necessity of defense and the wishes of the nation's parents that their children do not have to march off to war again, do not have to worry that someone is out to kidnap them? Why does everyone never ever mention the fact that they are still sending over rockets aimed at population centers even as Israel holds back. Why does no one ever say aha! that knock on the roof worked so well that the US adopted it too! Why does a LGBT organization join with a BDS group when it is that group's favorite countries that will hang these very same LGBTs or throw them off a roof, or torture and mutilate them?
     I have no answers other than the willful blindness of people and we see that in all sorts of situations, public and private, big cities and small towns (ahem), nationally and internationally.
     For today though, I have a  simple goal - get all out on time with all their belongings and not too much for us to drag with us when we check through the house here. I want to hear that they are at the gate, the plane is there, they are boarding and get a call when they land and then when they are home. Simple but major, are they not?
     Life. A plethora of questions and conundrums. Answers? Not so plentiful and true ones are often ignored - at our peril. At least I know that I closed out the holiday with a special meal in honor of my mom and spoke well, I believe, about her and other mothers. I feel good about that and know that she and my dad were listening in and smiling. Love you guys. Miss you. Always.