As I write, this August of 2013, my mom is, b”H, almost 92 years old. Mom sleeps a lot and, as a result of a stroke, does not speak. Though she suffers from dementia, she does recognize her family and has retained her very pleasant personality and demeanor; she responds to us and to the wonderful caregivers with her trademark warm and friendly smile.

  Those in our community who knew Mom in her vibrant younger years know that she was an excellent musician and a master gardener. She did outstanding chesed, with our home always open to guests. My

“My little daughter loves the pool! She begs to go swimming all the time. The only problem is that I can’t take my eyes off her for a second. If I do, she jumps right into water way over her head and comes up sputtering and laughing and completely ready to do it again. Can you teach her to swim this summer?”

  “My son is terrified of the big pool! He’ll go into a blow-up pool, but if I take him to a real pool, he refuses to go near the water, and if I try to take him

It is the night after the vort. The happy crowds have gone home. The food is put away, and the floor is vacuumed. But the big Mazal Tov sign still hangs on the wall, and the parents, along with the chasan and kalla, are still smiling at the memory of the kisses, hugs, and brachos that embraced them so warmly the night before.

  Now reality sets in. The parents worry: “How are we going to find the money to set up this new couple? It is not only the wedding expenses that loom on the horizon but also all

A quick-witted mechanic once told a customer, “I could not fix your breaks, so I made your horn louder.” In life, instead of directly confronting an issue, we sometimes try to cover it up or avoid it completely. The planning for the distribution of one’s finances and family obligations after death is uncomfortable for some but a necessity for all. Nobody likes to think that he or she will die eventually, but it is incumbent upon each and every person to plan for this event.

  The first and best way to plan for these eventualities is by creating an

Some things are done a certain way, and we all assume they will always be done that way. But PTA meetings, amazingly enough, have changed dramatically. Twenty-five years ago, I waited in line for two hours to see just one of my son’s two teachers. It was considered normal for parents to spend the entire evening at school, never being able to tell the babysitter when they would be home, because they had no idea how long the wait would be. While waiting in line, the parents would grumble about what an inefficient way it was to do things, but

t’s hard to remember the time – just a few years ago – when someone tried to solicit business via the internet and was “flamed” (severely condemned) by the online community. With its origins in government and universities, the internet was only for research and education; commercial use and advertising were not permitted.

Today, the majority of businesses have a web site, and many people’s main use of the internet is as a place to shop and pay their bills. As consumers, we are no longer limited to our local store, our city, or even New York (!) but have at