To my loyal readers, this is my final blog. It’s time to hang up my tiara and to turn my attention to The Federation and other volunteer activities. I know, you’re thinking, “she’s retired, what on earth she is doing with her time???” But trust me, even without having to go to work, I find my days are fully occupied!

I have really enjoyed writing this blog and I do hope you have enjoyed reading it. I’ve never written a blog before. It was fun sharing my stories with the community. It helped that my identity was hidden. This gave me the freedom to write about myself and my family and still be able to go out in public!

There are other blogs on The Federation’s website and I encourage you to read them, too. And I can’t end my blog without one more pitch to encourage you to be involved with The Federation. There are so many ways to participate!

Take care,

The Royal Philanthropist

Okay, I admit it. I was wasting away the afternoon (yes, Friday afternoon is a slow time even for us retired folks) watching my favorite TV – reruns of “Law and Order”. It’s not only mindless but chances are I’ve seen the episode before. Probably more than once. But hey, it’s my guilty pleasure! Since I was watching an actual broadcast rather than a recorded show, I wasn’t able to fast-forward through the commercials. Talk about mindless! Anyway, given the time of year, there were many commercials selling Easter items. There were ads for Easter bunnies, loads of candy, and spring outfits for all ages.

I tuned out all of it and then it hit me – this is just like Christmas. I, like all Jews, are bombarded with messages about a Christian holiday, celebrated by a vast majority of people. What struck me is how I just tune it all out. It comes, of course, with being totally comfortable with my Jewish identity.   My thoughts are with my preparations for Passover.  I don’t wish I could buy Easter baskets - I just wish the Passover cleaning and shopping were over!

Going Passover food shopping always puts me in the holiday mood.  This year, I am not making the Seder and only have to bring one dish – much easier than having the make the entire meal.  I also start thinking about my favorite Passover foods. Why do we only eat haroseth at Passover? Everyone loves it but for some reason, it’s a one time a year treat.

So, no wistful thoughts about colored eggs and that plastic fluffy stuff that goes into the baskets. I’m too busy, and quite content, planning for my daily chocolate fix during Passover, making sure I don’t forget where I stashed the non-Passover dishes, and obsessing over my one contribution to the Seder. Bunnies and bonnets are not swirling around me – but happy thoughts of matzo balls and brisket, friends and family, are there instead.  

Happy Pesach to all of you!

Need I even ask? Of course you signed up! Or, are you one of those folks who are so out of touch, so off the grid, so uninformed that you don’t even know about Good Deeds Day??? I think not – everyone reading my blog surely knows better!
On the off chance that you need such information, let me explain. Good Deeds Day, simply put, is an international mitzvah day, a day where people all over the world participate in various community service projects. This year, the date is Sunday, March 25.  Our local Federation is sponsoring a variety of projects to help our own community. The list of projects is on The Federation web page.

Not only am I signed up, but my husband, with no prodding from me, is also signed up. When I told him about it and when he found out my project required absolutely no talent, he said “count me in.” See, truly anyone can participate. My husband and I are nice people but talent – well, we lack in the department. But we do have enthusiasm and an interest in helping others. If we can do it, so can you.

I know from past experiences, that it is always the right decision to participate in an activity that helps others. I’ll be the first to confess to having spent many a day lazing around the house, carefully avoiding any meaningful activity. I also admit to spending far too many days strolling through a shopping mall, over spending and over eating.  At the end of the day, it just doesn’t feel all that good to know I’ve wasted time, money and energy that could have been put to better use. I promise you won’t have this empty feeling if you participate in Good Deeds Day. Instead, you’ll have a happy inner glow, knowing you offered a helping hand to someone in need. This is never a bad choice.

So please join me and many others in the Greater Washington Jewish community in participating in Good Deeds Day. There are so many projects to choose from – surely one will be right for you, your family and friends. Then you can start the week feeling really good about yourself.

See you on Sunday!!!

Ever since I’ve retired, I have indulged myself in learning more about my favorite subjects, taking classes in art appreciation, history of just about anything, photography, all Jewish-related topics, cooking, etc, etc. I figure by the time I’m 102, I’ll be really, really smart.  I’m not sure where all this education is leading but I figure it can’t hurt. Besides, I keep meeting new friends or running into ones I already have. Then they meet each other and more friendships are made. Note that I said “friends I already have.” At my age, the term “old friends” is to be avoided at all costs.

Recently, I took a class in, of all things, Klezmer music. As I expected from a class held in Montgomery County, the class was well attended. I’m guessing about 50 people were there. The speaker was a young-ish man (okay, everyone seems younger than me these days) who played, loved and studied Klezmer. He was a delight – starting the session by playing Klezmer music himself.  He played on an actual instrument but sorry, I have no clue what it was. Maybe my next class should be “identifying musical instruments for the totally clueless.”
A few days later, I attended a lecture by a woman whose parents and grandparents escaped from Austria just before World War II. So many people had signed up for the talk that the woman offered to hold two sessions. Her living room was packed. For a group of Jewish women, we were unusually quiet as we listened to this amazing story of bravery, good timing and just plain luck. And I should add, several stories of kindness from the most unlikely of sources. The real story, though, for me, was evident in the many family photographs in that living room, the woman’s family, now three generations.

I am also taking a music appreciation class and just finished yet another art history class. This is loads of fun. I keep thinking I need to stop and perhaps stay home a bit more and enjoy the retired life. After all, I have all those books waiting for me on my Kindle, photos to fix on my computer and movies on my DVR. But I guess I’m either too restless or too curious to stay home.  Besides, I keep reading that exercising is just as important for the brain as for the body. Since I seem to neglect the later, I might as well keep the brain cells active!! Education is a Jewish tradition that I’m happy to keep.

I shouldn’t be the only smart one around. I encourage you to attend Routes: A Day of Jewish Learning on March 11.  Check it out by clicking here. There are tons of topics to choose from. Great instructors.  A flexible schedule.  And in the unlikely event that you get bored, you can look around and wonder who in the crowd is the “Royal Philanthropist!”

I recently spent a week in New York City, indulging myself in a week of my favorite things – theatre, museums, and, of course, shopping—and in particular, shopping for art. I seem to have an insatiable need to collect art objects. These objects serve no other purpose except to make me happy by just looking at them. I have tried to stop – really I have, but somehow these things call out to me. It really isn’t my fault!

So once again, while in New York, I found myself in an art gallery, hopelessly in love with a piece of art work, and once again, my credit card seems to have mysteriously jumped out of my wallet and presented itself to the salesperson. I did exercise a bit of restraint by not rushing immediately into this purchase. Instead, I used the tired excuse that “I had to speak to my husband first.” This “have to call the spouse” excuse is universal, I believe, even if no spouse exists or the person is going to buy it anyways.  It does little good in my home. After so many years of marriage, my husband knows those two words essential to a successful marriage: “yes dear.”

After a very short walk, I returned to the gallery and plunked down the credit card. A few days after I came home from New York, the package with my new bauble arrived. It’s now on display with my other purchases and sure is beautiful.
But then what??? I realize that the thrill of the new purchase doesn’t last all that long. The new object quickly blends in with my other things and becomes just another trophy on my shelf. My thoughts are soon moving on to other things.    
So what does matter? What things/experiences linger and create real happiness?? You guessed it: it’s not the endless buying for ME but the doing for OTHERS.  So while I know myself –that I will keep buying things just because they make me happy, my real happiness comes from what I do for others and for me, that means for The Federation. I still relish the joy that came from an afternoon spent celebrating Hanukkah at the Group Home while volunteering with Mitzvah Mavens, those wonderful feelings from attending VOICES, the pride when visiting a Jewish Day School, and of course, the satisfaction of knowing that my monetary contributions are helping Jews in need and enriching the Jewish community. That’s what really matters – that’s what lasts.