I ran "mommy camp" for my 3 yr old today. I am exhausted. I stood on my feet all day today and hardly ate all day. I picked up after him and washed the floor half a dozen times. There was no fresh supper tonight. I didn' get to do any of my important errands. The laundry didnt get folded. The last ten boxes from the move didnt get unpacked. Today I focused on him entirely. But to do this for ten weeks, with a bunch of older kids to boot? Wow, that would deplete me completely.
I ran "mommy camp" for my 3 yr old today. I am exhausted. I stood on my feet all day today and hardly ate all day. I picked up after him and washed the floor half a dozen times. There was no fresh supper tonight. I didn' get to do any of my important errands. The laundry didnt get folded. The last ten boxes from the move didnt get unpacked. Today I focused on him entirely. But to do this for ten weeks, with a bunch of older kids to boot? Wow, that would deplete me completely.
That's because you're a neb. Period. Get used to it. A mother, especially a SAHM, and definitely one who recently moved into her dream apartment in Brooklyn where there are so many airy parks walking distance, should've been able to pull it all off.
I ran mommy camp for my entire block, served them all homemade organic pizza made with cheese I curdled myself from the milk I milked from my cows who live in my backyard. Then we played the most fun games. Then, while the kids were entertaining themselves with the used coffee stirrers I salvaged from the gas station so it didn't cost me a cent, and homemade glue, I was super geshikt and washed down all my floors and set up the dinner on the stove. The menu? Oh, only veggies harvested from our window garden which I tend to daily and beans I grow on our deck. Then we walked 4 miles to a local park and went fishing. Later I dropped each kid off to their mommys.
I plan on doing this not only in the summer, but also in the winter.
If I can do it, you should be able to do it too. I can't see why not.
People who like to criticize Chassidim won't stop just because you've reminded them that no one asked them, not to give a penny and not to become a Chossid. They just don't like Chassidim and will give their opinion six zillion times because that's how worth it is is to bash Chassidim. Because there are just so many things Chassidim do wrong. And don't you know, Chassidim don't even take showers. Not even in the three weeks for Ahavas Yisroel's sake.
kitov I think you forgot to add that you did all that with the weather only reaching 105 degrees Fahrenheit and with the humidity levels making the heat index feel like it was 115 degrees.
kitov I think you forgot to add that you did all that with the weather only reaching 105 degrees Fahrenheit and with the humidity levels making the heat index feel like it was 115 degrees.
Actually, what I forgot to add was, that after all this mommy for the block camp experience, I tidied up the house and hosted a huge fundraising event for parents that can't afford camp.
You'd be surprised, there were some MO donors who were visiting here from Israel who had left their teens behind, home alone.
People who like to criticize Chassidim won't stop just because you've reminded them that no one asked them, not to give a penny and not to become a Chossid. They just don't like Chassidim and will give their opinion six zillion times because that's how worth it is is to bash Chassidim. Because there are just so many things Chassidim do wrong. And don't you know, Chassidim don't even take showers. Not even in the three weeks for Ahavas Yisroel's sake.
I wouldn't exactly call it bashing. My super huge chassidishe vareme hartz would rather prefer to call it "a culture barrier". When you live a very different life, with very different values, it is hard to pause for a moment and wear the other yid's shoe to understand her steps. Life's too hectic for that, seems like.
I agree that if there were enough "regular" teens that stayed in the city then camp would be less of a necessity.
Unless of course the intent is to forget everything they learned the year before (in which case, it is pretty successful unfortunately).
I do not understand the chassidish way of marrying off kids very young and then still "mommying" them for the next couple of years but that is what's done.
I agree about the first.
I think the second, well, you NEED to have your dids to summer work. Even my 4 yr old does, several times a week. For bigger kids, it can (and should) be their responsibility. Don't do it? Ok, but beware if your grades are under passing grade next year!
I do not think it is for all chassidim, about the third. "My" chassidim (those I see, those I descend from) were married later, and NOT babied.
They would forgo living in a more affordable Jewish neighborhood if it would mean not having the kind of chinuch institutions that coincide with their values. And even within their neighborhoods, they would choose the more expensive chinuch institutions even if there are cheaper options locally, not for academic purposes, only for their value purposes.
I don't necessarily see this.
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who will reach out to them? Their chassidishe peers. Who also believe in this cause.
Ha no, do you think most tzedaka boxes for poor pupils of X or Y chassidish schools are filled only by chassidim?
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I don't recall the last fundraising event for a chassidishe institution in a MO neighborhood.
I see it all the time. Sorry. People could at least be thankful
OK question to Chassidish posters:
I know many Chassidish rebbies have started with takanot limiting spending on weddings etc. (I've heard this about Skver specifically, and I know this exists in EY) I wonder if an appeal can be made the various rebbies for similar takanot making camp more affordable. Maybe going for alternative day camps even for the bachurim and chadarim. Is this realistic? I mean if everyone is struggling, or at least everyone is struggling, how about just making it cheaper so everyone can go instead of raising money so everyone can go?
I ran "mommy camp" for my 3 yr old today. I am exhausted. I stood on my feet all day today and hardly ate all day. I picked up after him and washed the floor half a dozen times. There was no fresh supper tonight. I didn' get to do any of my important errands. The laundry didnt get folded. The last ten boxes from the move didnt get unpacked. Today I focused on him entirely. But to do this for ten weeks, with a bunch of older kids to boot? Wow, that would deplete me completely.
Here are the parts I don't understand:
1. When I'm home all day with the kids I sweep after every meal. I do NOT wash the floor each time!
2. There's often no fresh supper, because I won't cook fresh if I have enough leftovers for a full meal. My kids are not picky, but they don't seem to eat much, even when they've asked for something specific. This is true of supper, but I see it at Shabbat lunch as well, and Friday lunches...
3. The laundry never gets folded until everyone's in bed. Unless I happen to do it before they all get up in the morning.
IIRC your 3 y.o. is your special needs child, so I don't know how much of this would apply and how much would be inappropriate but:
1. My kids LOVE helping with the laundry. No, it doesn't always get done "right", but I don't really care whether their underwear and tzitzis are neatly stacked in the drawer as long as it all gets to the right place.
2. My kids LOVE to cook. Simple stuff...but I've never had them refuse to eat something they cooked.
3. I can seat my kids at the table with paper and crayons (and a plastic tablecloth that I don't care if it gets coloured on) for long enough to sweep the floor after they've stepped on all the crumbs and ground them into the tiles .
I ran "mommy camp" for my 3 yr old today. I am exhausted. I stood on my feet all day today and hardly ate all day. I picked up after him and washed the floor half a dozen times. There was no fresh supper tonight. I didn' get to do any of my important errands. The laundry didnt get folded. The last ten boxes from the move didnt get unpacked. Today I focused on him entirely. But to do this for ten weeks, with a bunch of older kids to boot? Wow, that would deplete me completely.
That's because you're a neb. Period. Get used to it. A mother, especially a SAHM, and definitely one who recently moved into her dream apartment in Brooklyn where there are so many airy parks walking distance, should've been able to pull it all off.
I ran mommy camp for my entire block, served them all homemade organic pizza made with cheese I curdled myself from the milk I milked from my cows who live in my backyard. Then we played the most fun games. Then, while the kids were entertaining themselves with the used coffee stirrers I salvaged from the gas station so it didn't cost me a cent, and homemade glue, I was super geshikt and washed down all my floors and set up the dinner on the stove. The menu? Oh, only veggies harvested from our window garden which I tend to daily and beans I grow on our deck. Then we walked 4 miles to a local park and went fishing. Later I dropped each kid off to their mommys.
I plan on doing this not only in the summer, but also in the winter.
If I can do it, you should be able to do it too. I can't see why not.
Excuse me, but I bet you don't grow your own wheat! And where pray tell were the goats and the sheep that you used to make wool so you could spin and weave your own blankets for the kids nap time? Or did you use cotton or flax. I really think you should have both since you plan to do a winter and summer camp!
Chassidim, not just in Brooklyn, prioritize chinuch over every thing else in their life. They would forgo living in a more affordable Jewish neighborhood if it would mean not having the kind of chinuch institutions that coincide with their values. And even within their neighborhoods, they would choose the more expensive chinuch institutions even if there are cheaper options locally, not for academic purposes, only for their value purposes. Insularity, mesorah, chassidus mean a lot to chassidim, and they will not compromise on any of it. If parents can't afford the kind of chinuch they want for their kids, they will not look for a cheaper chinuch. They will humbly ask for tuition breaks, or ask for tzedaks. And who will reach out to them? Their chassidishe peers. Who also believe in this cause.
So what's the whole 88 pages all about? If the rich chassidim, who are in power, gladly help their chassidish bretheren, because they believe in that rather than in amending the system, what's the problem?
If any of you imamothers feel this cause isn't on your preferred list, that's ok. I don't recall the last fundraising event for a chassidishe institution in a MO neighborhood. We basically work it out between ourselves.
Right. You finally got it. We aren't interested in chinuch. It is number 17 on our list, way down after dressing our kids up beautifully before stepping outside with them, owning expensive jewellery, going on vacation etc. It's really beautiful there is still part of Am Yisrael who prioritize chinuch - unlike Litvish, MO et al who don't really think it's so important.
Right. You finally got it. We aren't interested in chinuch. It is number 17 on our list, way down after dressing our kids up beautifully before stepping outside with them, owning expensive jewellery, going on vacation etc. It's really beautiful there is still part of Am Yisrael who prioritize chinuch - unlike Litvish, MO et al who don't really think it's so important.
After this, I've got a Pink Floyd earworm (We don't need no education.....)
BTW, kitov, your Super-Organic Certification plaque was mistakenly delivered to mi casa instead of yours. Should I bring it over with the five bushels of hand-milled spelt? (We have separate grain mills in our 'hood for gluten and non-gluten flours. This allows us to spend more time on matchy-matchy outfits)
Signed, MO OOT Rachel who actually conquered Mount Washmore yesterday! Yee-hah!
People who like to criticize Chassidim won't stop just because you've reminded them that no one asked them, not to give a penny and not to become a Chossid. They just don't like Chassidim and will give their opinion six zillion times because that's how worth it is is to bash Chassidim. Because there are just so many things Chassidim do wrong. And don't you know, Chassidim don't even take showers. Not even in the three weeks for Ahavas Yisroel's sake.
Um, I grew up in Monsey and my family always got solicited from Chassidim.
No we MO don't prioritize chinuch at all. That's why we are the ones paying out a third of our salaries and more sometimes, certainly abroad, to pay for our three, four, five or even six kids Jewish educations.
No the chassidish community always fundraises only in its own. Which is why this morning we had several pants in the socks chassidic bochurim in our shul 7 AM very DL minyan collecting. They sure weren't collecting for a hesder yeshiva or for the MO community. Funny, my very MO friends in LA told me that a bunch of chassidish schnorrers were around their way recently. Also around in Forest Hills. Didn't know that there was a big chassidish enclave in Forest Hills. Wonder how they found their way northward.
No the chassidish community is totally autarchic and grows its own wheat and makes its own organic ketchup out of its own organic tomatoes which it grows in its windowboxes over looking the parks that they don't go to because they are too busy washing the floor six times a day...maybe a tiny exaggeration? Maybe it was only washed four times? Why does a floor need washing so many times a day? Because someone is throwing food all over the house? Ever hear of the rule - food only in the kitchen? If my girlfriend with a son who has maybe a 70 IQ and is hyperactive could have taught him that at age three I guess it's possible. Yes she had to run after him for a few weeks until he got the hang of it - she made that decision that it was time to "train" him when he turned 2.5 and the next baby was born, but hey, I guess she is not a human being but a saint because now someone is going to tell me it's impossible and no human being can do that (and she has 4 other kids too).
Its incredible how fs just doesnt tire of criticizing my parenting. Incredible. Ftr, that WAS THE KITCHEN FLOOR. My husband's sisters were comng to visit my new palace, hence the repeated floor washing. And after they left, while I had hopped in the shower before heading out for pizza since I hadnt cooked, he pulverized a pack of mint candies, in the kitchen.... Hey, what am I doing ? My therapist told me to stop wasting my energy arguing with all of you and enjoy life... Which I bh am...
Its incredible how fs just doesnt tire of criticizing my parenting. Incredible. Ftr, that WAS THE KITCHEN FLOOR. My husband's sisters were comng to visit my new palace, hence the repeated floor washing. And after they left, while I had hopped in the shower before heading out for pizza since I hadnt cooked, he pulverized a pack of mint candies, in the kitchen.... Hey, what am I doing ? My therapist told me to stop wasting my energy arguing with all of you and enjoy life... Which I bh am...
Good advice for us all LOL.
BTW, I have two messy eaters and what I do is just take a paper towel and spray fantastic. It takes about 30 seconds.
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