Well, it seems like a year of awesome decisions. On the political level, we have barely begun, but at least begun, to recognize that no amount of being nice is going to convince arabs around here that we have a right to exist. So, when they try to kill us, we've begun doing them first. Shouldn't take a genius to have figured that out, but, jews aren't always all they're cracked up to be.

On the home front, the biggest decision has been for our oldest son, Yibaneh, to get married. You may think he's young, just because he decided that (together with the woman in question) at age 18, but it's okay. They've turned 19 already, so they're much older than they were. While a touch young, it is not altogether unusual in our community. Neither of them is the first in their classes to wed. For a glimpse of Puppies in Love.

In other news, our Golden Ticket continues to grow.
Figuring out how to raise a downy, like the challenge of raising any child, demands constant awareness of who you're dealing with. There is much to be learned and enjoyed from the movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Color and a child's fantasy are the background for a good story about a poor kid who gets a chance, the triumph of honesty, and a delightful comic character.

The story begins with an announcement from a mysterious chocolate factory, that after many years of secrecy, the doors will be opened to the holders of five Golden Tickets, which are hidden in their chocolate bars. A world-wide buying spree results in 3, then 4, then 5 of the tickets being discovered.

Our hero, the poor kid, who had of course wild dreams himself, is discouraged, and buys a simple chocolate bar, which he stuffs in his bag as consolation. On the way home he hears that the fifth ticket was a forgery, and that there's still a ticket hiding somewhere out there. He peels back the wrapper of his bar, and there it shines, unexpectedly. The Golden Ticket!

A wonderful song bursts out: I've got a Golden Ticket!

When I look at the big smiley eyes of my daughter, full of hidden surprises, of boundless love, I can only think to myself: who knew it? I've got a Golden Ticket! A surprise entry, that I never even dreamed of, into a world of happiness, hugs, wide-eyed surprise at everything that comes our way. She different than the others, the challenges of language acquisition, other challenges. But she, too, has so much to give. (And you should see the way she roars when she's a Lion!)

Yacdav is basking in his brother's wedding plans. He is enjoying school, busy as a counsellor here and there. Things are sitting well with him, and he's been busy making big plans for the next couple of years. He's pretty good in the brother department, I should add.

Eretz has begun high school. She is re-defining fast. Or faster. Experimenting. Here's without hair, for example. And here's just plain happy. Free to be me, and enjoying it, at the 'difficult' age of 15. She seems to be doing it well. (She also has developed a stage character, a very prim teacher, which she does marvelously, but seldom is willing to do for others. So far. Stay tuned.)

The three little boys, are getting bigger. Tohar is preparing for his bar-mitzva, and the other two are reading up a storm, for a change... The older two have, by the way, recently discovered the wonders of email. You write a letter, you get mail! Miracle. So, if you want to write, try either Tohar (age 12, 7^th grade) at tohar@shilo.org.il or Shalev (age 10, 5^th grade), at shalev@shilo.org.il.

And then, even when they go out of the house, they're still in the house. Shilo gets snow, Gilbars get igloo. Shalev and Eretz.