Warm Wishes

"Tis the season, finally. The only traveling my family does over the winter break is to ice hockey tournaments. I admit to being disappointed. Our plans are less than exciting, consisting of attending a tournament, completion of high school applications and a dentist appointment. Everyone else is traveling to more interesting climes, or so it seems. So, yesterday, I noticed an e-mail from the homeless shelter at Ansche Chesed saying they needed volunteers. I signed myself up for January 2nd and will help out with my eldest daughter. All of the sudden, chic vacation plans seemed so much less important than being grateful for the warmth of my home and the blessings of my family.

Character Counts

An historical exhibit at the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland shows video clips of various leaders admonishing that this art form posed a threat to society. They were, of course, talking about sexuality, but has anyone noticed that the moral fiber of our society has been degrading since, let's say, Watergate? Who can be admired or respected anymore? Perhaps I am being romantic, but it seems that, once upon a time, there were shared expectations as to standards of behavior. Certainly, people behaved badly back in that mythically perfect once upon a time. Just because corruption, adultery, drug or alcohol were not discussed or publicized doesn't mean those problems didn't exist. Even mean girls pre-dated the 1970's; think of "The Children's Hour," written by Lillian Hellman in 1934 in which the lives of two teacher's lives are destroyed by a malicious rumor started by a student. And that play pre-dates facebook by light years. What if that hellion of a student had the capacity to go viral? Lack of a moral compass appears to be as severe a pandemic as the H1N1 virus.

A change is afoot. A few weeks ago, the headmaster of my daughter's school addressed his students and admonished them for their facebook comments. These students were told, in no uncertain terms, that they were being held to a high standard of honor and character. I was and am so pleased that my children have had the good fortune to be part of a unique community where character development remains paramount. We grownups need to examine our values. Certainly, we should not return to a time when women silently suffered domestic abuse and immoral behavior was merely swept under the rug. Rather, we need to lead by example and be our best selves - our kindest, most hard working, honest and generous selves. Our relationships with others need to be based on respect. We need to value everyone who contributes to our daily life and give thanks at the beginning and end of each day. However, our children need to see us recover from mistakes, acknowledge that we are less than perfect. An apology is an amazing teaching tool.