To New Friends And Long Lost Sisters

Like dusk before nightfall, the 30 minutes before bedtime is when my house slowly shifts from the afternoon chaos to peace and quiet. The kitchen counters are wiped down, dirty laundry banished from the bathroom floor, and the remains of dinner tupper-wared and put away. Window shades are lowered, bedspreads are pulled back and the sound machine resumes its gentle whir. Zina Ballerina gets returned to her spot, where hanging from her ponytail, she spends the night.

My girls climb on me, their hair freshly washed, barefoot in their clean pajamas."You know what Mommy?" they say as recount something they remember from their day. "Look at what I can do!" they call out as they twist and turn, practicing their ballet moves. And for as long as they are calm, I can resist checking the time.There's no rush to get them into bed just yet.

I missed a few bedtimes this week. But we will catch up this weekend.

*****

Tuesday night I was in Tampa, Florida for a cabaret style evening. The women were clearly super excited as most of them showed up 40 minutes before the program was to start. But it was not a minute too early because the mood was spot on from the very beginning. The room shimmered and sparkled like a glittery disco ball.

We drank.

It could be that mostly I drank.

We sang.

And then we boogied like it was the 50s again. This crowd committed.

Thank you Chani (and all the great women I met last night) for inviting me to partake in this beautiful event.

*****

Following a 4am wake-up I headed back to New York for an afternoon with my little gals and some  freshening up. It's late now and after a long day I am pretty much ready to unravel but I wanted to share these pictures with you. 'Sister to Sister' is a unique and indispensable organization that helps divorced women in many many ways. This is the fourth time I have had the privilege to sing for such a unique and diverse crowd. The mood was CELEBRATION and the women and girls were joyful and excited to be spending time with their friends/SISTERS in such a beautiful setting. I saw many familiar faces and together we celebrated life, change and new opportunities.

 This girl told me she is becoming a Kallah tomorrow. She made my night.

*****
Tomorrow we head to Miami for the weekend where a last minute cancellation has us spending Shabbos by my parents. Motzei Shabbos is the N'shei Chabad Convention , for a weekend of workshops, speakers, entertainment (moi!) and friendship. I am sure it will be a stunning Melava Malka so stick around for all that excitement.

If you haven't picked up your N'shei Chabad Magazine, now is a good time, the Chanukah issue features an article with me that you can read in full here.

I'll see you all next week.
Until then, to laughter,

 Mischievousness,

 and rubber boots that just wont quit.

Good night.