My Uncle Larry has been wondering whether he is strong enough (crazy enough?) to revisit, so soon, a land he only travelled to with Sharon, who knew and loved this land with such easy familiarity. Sharon would walk into a shop where she used to shop when she was a girl of twenty, chat with the current shopkeeper, whose grandfather she used to buy from. I've been thinking about this, and about how all of us are not saying "Goodbye", rather, we are saying "Hello". Hello to the places Sharon loved, Hello to the people from all different phases of Sharon's life, who are getting to know each other better than ever, now.
And so, just as I begin my correspondence with Larry to plan a gathering, a Hello and a celebration of Sharon's Israel, I see this notice about a conference coming up on January 17:
BS''DJerusalem Institue for Narrative Therapy and Qesem Institute will host a workshop on NARRATIVE THERAPY WITH GRIEF AND LOSS: An alternative story about how to go on. Western popular psychological approaches to grief have tended to emphasize letting go, moving on and saying goodbye. This emphasis can lead people to believe that they must cut themselves off from important knowledge and experience that comes from lost people or their ways of life. This can deprive people of wisdom, skills, and traditions that are vital to their identity, their dreams and their commitments. In this workshop we will consider alternative ways of responding to loss. These alternative responses focus on holding on, looking back, and saying hello. They include considering cultural, spiritual and personal beliefs as people shape their response to loss. We will not propose a single, correct way to respond to loss. Instead, we will build on people’s knowledge, experience, and valued stories. Some of these practices we will explore include: Questions that may help people hold on to precious experiences that could be lost. Ideas for documenting responses to grief and loss. Ways of reclaiming knowledge and identity that could be stolen through loss. Ideas to honor and hold close important people, relationships, places etc. even though they are not physically available.
Nomi here again: "Ideas" to honor and hold close important people?? Nah, we don't need ideas, we need kreplach, and honey cake, and chicken soup and kneidlach, and any foods that bring Buby to Mommy's elbow. Hello Buby. Hello Zaidie. Hello Grandpa. Hello Pearl that I never knew but I have a string of your pearls and I say Hello to you when I touch them. Come to Israel Larry. Come with your grandsons and introduce them to this place that Sharon loved. Come and say Hello
I remember when Mommy heard from Herbie Leon that I was pregnant with Yoni. Can you imagine, I hadn't told my own Mommy first? And so, since all the relatives in Israel already know, here's the news: Benino will be a sweet, fun, romantic bistro beside a piazza with pigeons, a block from the sea in Tel Aviv. 
