LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor,

Please allow me to continue the conversation started by Evelyn Schwartz in the September Letters to the Editor and then followed by A Grateful Mother Who Loves Having Her Children at Home in the October issue of The Jewish Echo. I, of course, adore my children and loved it when they were off from school so we can enjoy precious family time together, but I can see where Ms. Schwartz is coming from in the sense that times are different now. Allow me to elaborate: Kids today, unlike previous generations, are attached to their parents more than before. For example, today’s kids cannot play outside unsupervised or just walk into a neighbor’s house to hang out, like my children did growing up in the 70s.  Society expects there to be an adult with them at all times. Kids cannot go to the local park, store, or library by themselves without an adult present. Kids also have a tremendous amount of time off from school. Growing up in New Jersey, I attended school during Chol Hamoed, Isru Chag, and Chanukah and did not get off a week before Pesach started. This, coupled with the fact that today’s young parents are working longer than ever before in an economy that is constantly demanding more of them, makes them feel overwhelmed and burned out. I see my adult children coming home at 7 P.M. and working on weekends and I feel bad that they do not have the luxury of time that me and my husband had when we raised them. So, yes, they may feel frazzled at times, and this does not make them bad parents, nor does it imply that they do not appreciate the beauty of parenting.        

                                                                                                                                   Bev and Irving Mittman

Dear Editor,

“My Beloved Only Child” by E. Frankel really resonated with me as the mother of an only child. In our community it is expected that families are large and that mothers are not middle-aged, but not all families fit this mold. I had my son in my early 40s, and he is our one and only precious prince. It pains me greatly when I pick him up from school or when I attend one of his plays and am mistaken  as his grandmother. I understand that I am not in my 20s or 30s like the rest of the mothers, but a little sechel  and sensitivity should be used. Don’t assume that everyone has many kids and don’t assume whom the mother is. May we all continue to have nachas from our children, the few and the many.   B. D.

Dear Editor,

Thank you Pinchos Shine for your column last month where you reminded us what to focus on during the hectic month when we are inundated with the chagim, baruch Hashem! I find myself falling into these traps and losing my cool when the house is a mess and children are running about, but this year I took his message to heart and didn’t allow myself to ruin the mood of the festivities by snapping at my relatives. I think everyone around me was impressed by my composure. Now, let’s see if I can continue the momentum  during Pesach time. Yehudis S. 

Dear Editor,

I have one word for Naomi Hazan’s holiday recipes of cilantro salmon and meatballs in onion sauce: YUM! I made it and my family loved it!  There were no leftovers in my fridge this Yom Tov! Malky L.