A parent's heart

This is the time of year when Jewish people observe a very intense period of ten days: those between Rosh Hashanah-the Days of Awe and Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement.  It is our time to celebrate the "birth" of the universe, our New Year, if you will.  It is a time for reflection about what the past year has been like for us, what we have done during that year and then decide how we can do better, be better, be kinder, more humane, endeavor to try to help make the world a better place.

During the ten days, we reflect on our interactions with others, the good, the not so good and we realize we have to make changes in our interactions with others. At the beginning of the Days of Awe, it is said that Gd opens the Book of Life.  At the close of the Day of Atonement, the Book of Life is sealed and our "fate" for the next year is determined.

And it is customary to wish our friends and family the following:  L'Shanah Tovah or Happy New Year and "May you be inscribed in the Book of Life."  We wish all our friends and family a healthy, happy, prosperous and joyous year.

For years my husband and I have always offered this wish for our sons who, over the years, have had some medical issues.  Our wishes for their good health have not really been heard.  With a chuckle in their voices they've even asked us to skip the "good health" wish and just stay with the "Happy New Year!"

This year, I've spent sleepless nights talking to myself, wondering why things are not getting much better for the boys.  And then I found myself praying (something I rarely do) for their problems to become mine if only they would feel good and be completely healthy again.  A mother's heart (and a dad's heart, too) gets easily broken when their children are hurting.  Maybe this year we'll have a breakthrough with answers that can give them the good health they deserve.  Then maybe our hearts will feel better and we can once again wish them a Happy and Health New Year.  We always wish that they may be inscribed in the Book of Life.  We fervently hope our words are "heard," not only for our sons but for all our family and friends.  Good health is the only thing that matters.  With that, everything else will fall into place.

If you're reading this, I wish that you all may be inscribed in the Book of Life.