Why Should a Perfectly Good Blog Go Untended Just Because I'm So Damn Busy?

OK, so is it a crime to let a year and a half go by without writing on this blog? Has Facebook replaced blogging for me, am I totally absorbed with Radio Free Nachlaot to the exclusion of everything else, do I cringe a little at my own wide-eyed optimism and unwavering cheerfulness when I read through the history of this blog - begun when I first made Aliyah in the Spring of 2007, when my eyes could only see what was "Jerusalicious" about life in the Holy City, before some trauma and drama (3 robberies, one horrific 11-week marriage nightmare & subsequent divorce that took another 10 weeks - 9 weeks longer than it should have!!! - plus a year in exile from my neighborhood, illness, a dramatic plunge in my socio-economic status, the shocking and unexpected deaths of several friends, two hospitalizations, just to name a very FEW things that have happened along the way) took the wind out of my sails?

Well, screw all that. I want my Jerusalicous back!

Last night I had dinner with my old friend Estelleigh Franenberg, widow of my dear childhood pal Barry ("Uncle Barry") Franenberg, who is visiting the Holy Land for the very first time. We were so delighted to spend time with each other even though it's been many years since we were together in the flesh, so to speak. Our children are grown, our husbands (who were best friends from high school until their deaths, less than a year apart - 1999 and 2000) gone, but as I said to Estelleigh as we were hugging and squealing like schoolgirls: We're not old, we're simply deliciously ripe mature women who have been through hell and come out the other side - we're soul survivors!

Yeah, that's right. Soul Survivors - our souls have endured a lot of crap but we don't smell any worse for wear - in fact, we're downright FRAGRANT with the scent of triumph - triumph over loss, grief, fear, uncertainty, and all the other things that come crashing down upon one's head when your spouse dies leaving you holding the bag - or in our mutual cases, leaving behind children who need shoes, food, a roof over their head, education, braces, and all the other "normal" things one wants to bestow upon one's offspring for their own good.

We didn't crawl into the corner and die ourselves, oh no we didn't. Last night we celebrated as two fabulous friends, women of great accomplishment and strength, and looking into each other's eyes we saw reflected there the image of our own innate deliciousness - yes, it was a very JERUSALICOUS-worthy get-together, one I will treasure for years to come.

Give Thanks and Praise to the Lord and it WILL be alright! It just might take a little longer than you'd prefer, that's all.