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I recently reached out to Valerie Hughes, one of the organizers of “Rise Up & Write.”  This summer program is offered through the Hudson Valley Writing Project.  Students will be encouraged to research issues of social justice that touch them and write about them.  I am moved to know that this workshop is taking place…

Yes!  That’s it!  My friend understood me, and she got it!  Let me wind the tape back for a minute to put it in context.  Mathew and I have been devoting much time to The Maya Gold Foundation.  This has not been the work of Mathew and me alone; that’s for sure!  It is really quite remarkable to witness all that…

When I started writing, I chose to call this blog, “Maya’s Gifts.”  Here is a little excerpt from the “About” page: Maya’s life was a gift.  I believe the saying that there is no loss greater than that of a child.  I am living with this loss, deeply.  It is one that I never wish…

Bonnie Meadow, our beloved tutor, shared these words with me as a comment from my previous post.  My thought is that her reflection warrants a post of its own. Thank you, Bonnie. Toldot will always be connected to Maya for me, as Beshalach will be connected to you, Elise. What a profound privilege it was…

I remember the first week.  It was the end of Shiva.  Rabbi Aura expressed how “we did not imagine that we would make it another day, not to mention an entire week.”  This was so very true.  Yet there we were.  Today marks two years.  How can this be?  And here we are. For those…

Dear Maya, Your mother has laid daffodils at your feet, gold, like you. They will spread throughout the forest. At your head a crown of crystals and stones, all precious, and a leaf, married as you are to the trees. How beautiful it is, how beautiful you always are, even here, your mother gives you…

My friend, Darcy Smith, wrote a poem, “No Words.”  I am posting it today, in honor of Maya’s Yahrzeit,  Thank you Darcy, and Sadie Press for giving me permission to do so.   No Words Daring blue skies glare down the oak covered path that snakes to her house.   I step over leaves the…

A few days ago, I was washing windows barefoot on our deck.  My feet were hot, and I remembered a story that Evan had shared with us at the Memorial Service at Rowe, earlier this year.  Evan was one of Maya’s counselors.  Their connection went very deep; they really “saw” one another.  I asked Evan…

It’s only been recently that I learned to view biblical stories with a new lens.  As I prepared for becoming a Bat Mitzvah in early 2015, I grappled with my D’var Torah (literally word of the Torah, or lesson, otherwise known as “the speech”).  I went to others for guidance.  Friends shared that I ought…

Ellen and I have been close friends for over twenty years. How amazing it was for me to be pregnant at the same time that Ellen was arranging to adopt her daughter. Maya and Tuli were both born in the same month. They’ve been friends since early infancy. What a gift it’s been to raise…