DIDN’T EXPECT IT? ACCEPT IT

DIDN’T EXPECT IT? ACCEPT IT! THIS WAS NOT WHAT I ORDERED!

MIRIAM K.

The package arrives right to my door, Hey! It’s not what I ordered – I asked for size 4! Didn’t I say I wanted hunter green? This is not at all the shade that I mean. A call or two and we’ll sort this thing out, Isn’t that what customer service is all about? But Return to Sender is an option no more, When life circumstances arrive right to your door!

Leah Wachsman* had every intention of spending the summer with her family of six in the country. She looked forward to the eight-week reprieve from her stifling one-bedroom apartment in the back of an old apartment building. Two weeks before the summer, the manager at the bungalow colony regretfully informed Mrs. Wachsman that her bungalow would be unavailable this season. Although she was thoroughly shocked and disappointed, Leah resolved to remain upbeat and not allow this unexpected letdown to affect her interactions with her brood. She made a firm decision to set the emotional thermostat in her home to a very pleasant setting. One memorable Sunday in August was a real scorcher. Taking her children outdoors was therefore not an option. Ever creative, Leah purchased green oak tags and carefully spread them out on her dining room floor. She mustered up as much enthusiasm as she could and announced, “Kinderlach, we are having a picnic! Right here in our dining room. And you know what? Our picnic beats the authentic outdoor ones! We have neither flies nor bugs to annoy us!” Leah took the lemons she hadn’t really ordered and made lemonade out of it!

Devorah Klein* would certainly have cracked up had anyone predicted her current head covering. Devorah’s kallah shopping included several luxurious custom wigs worth thousands of dollars. When she attended a cousin’s chasunah a mere few days after her own wedding, a life-altering conversation ensued. Devorah, flanked by her mother, was adorned in her freshly styled deluxe wig. Her mother’s friend who was standing nearby, approached them with a hearty mazel tov. “Devorah”, she gushed. “Look at you! You can barely tell that you are wearing a wig! It looks so natural!” That one comment was the catalyst for a horrified Devorah to make a firm resolution to discard her wigs. With supernatural strength of character, she opted to wear a covered synthetic wig to proclaim to the world at large that she is indeed married! It was definitely not something she planned on doing, but once she made that instant decision, she never looked back. Fifteen years ago when Esty G.* got married, she knew with certainty that her chosson was a true masmid. Their home would be a home of Torah learning where she would sacrifice everything for the sake of her husband’s learning. It took only a couple of days for the bitter truth to emerge. Not only was her husband not a scholar but he didn’t open a sefer ever, period! Disillusioned and pained, Esty tried to collect herself and come up with a solution of sorts. She clearly remembered one of her high school teacher explaining that when one says perek ט"קי in Tehillim, it’s as though one is actually learning Torah. For fifteen years now, Esty has been diligently and tediously reciting this perek as a means of accruing Torah learning in her home (despite her own reading disability). Esty expected a learned spouse but when the husband she ‘ordered’ didn’t fit that bill, she stepped up to the plate in a most admirable way.

Dina R.* was a vibrant day camp director whose energy level was unsurpassed. Three hours of sleep on a nightly basis was sufficient to recharge the battery of this virtual live-wire. One summer, Dina began experiencing alarming physical symptoms. A check-up at her physician revealed a shocking discovery. She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Years of cultivating an inner calm and a sense of happiness provided the fortitude she needed to forge ahead. Dina is currently in a perpetually good mood. Not a night goes by where Dina doesn’t verbally count her blessings. She constantly has an attitude of gratitude, thanking Hashem for everything from her teeth and her eyes, to her children. “Maybe my physical self is not in the best shape, but at least my spirits are great!” she enthuses. “You can’t change the winds, but you can adjust the sails”, she adds thoughtfully.