The newspapers are reporting that Barak
Obama has given an "farbetung" (invitation)
to his mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, 71,
to live with him in the White House. If
Robinson moves into the White House it
would be the first time in history that three
generations of a new presidential family
have moved together to Washington, D.C.
Marian Robinson, Michelle Obama's mother, is a "almone" (widow) and retired
bank secretary. She has served as the girls'
chief caretaker during their mother's
frequent absences. "Malia and Sasha are
extremely close to their gradmother.
Robinson said, "I will do whatever Michelle
needs simply because I know how important it is for her to see that the children...still
have discipline and still have
things that children do at their disposal."
So, now the girls will have their grandma...
and a new "hintl" (puppy).
Others have written that "First Granny" will
provide powerful teachable moments for
America, offering the perfect solution to
both our nation's child care crisis, and the
cultural black mark of abandoning our
seniors in old age homes.
Of course, the late-night comedians and
comedy writers have added their comments:
Alan Ray: "Barack Obama has invited his
mother-in-law to live with him in the White
House. This proves once and for all he's not
a socialist. He's actually a masochist."
"Gedenken" is the Yiddish word meaning
"to remember." My mother-in-law, Adele
Wolfe, has been deceased over 16 years, but
I still remember her kind ways.
I
REMEMBER WHEN:
I greeted her but didn't know how to address her, and simply
said, "shalom."
The above-shown problem was resolved six years later;
I called her "bobe"
I forgot to send her a birthday card...and
nothing was said.
"Bobe" was concerned because her first grandson was applying
to the CIA--Culinary Institute of America--to become a chef. She
reminded him of the story about the woman who always cut off the end
of a roast before putting it into the pan to cook. One day
her husband asked
why she did it. "I don't know. My mother
always did it that way.' So they called
Mom and asked why she always cut off
the end of the roast before cooking. Her
response was simple: "Because my
roasting pan was too 'kleyn' (small)."
My 3-year-old son asked
grandma "Ida" how she feels when she gets up in the morning...and she
answered, "dershtoynt" (amazed).
Grandma
asked me what was meant by "quality time."
My son, Daniel, had a bad case of zits--and grandma mailed
him a one-year supply of chelated zinc supplement (50 mg.)
I wanted to join Marriage Encounter and my mother-in-law, mother,
and father, suspected--incorrectly--that I was having
marital problems. (That's no "Bobe mayse"--gandmother
story.)
My mother-in-law prepared the entire
Passover Seder "on" (without) a Cuisinart.
No one in the family wanted
the responsibility for preparing the
Thanksgiving meal--and there was talk
about spending the holiday at a local
catering hall (think Leonard's of Great
Neck or the Milleridge Inn in Jericho, NY).
My mother-in-law related the following
lines from Neil Simon's play, BROADWAY
BOUND: "The table you eat on means
everything. It's the one time in the day
the family is together...This is where you
share things...People who eat out all the
time don't get to be a family."
My mother-in-law called at 10 p.m. and
asked, "Do you know were my 'eynikl'
(grandchild) is?"
My husband gained 25 lbs.. and began
experiencing a sense of isolation and loss
of sleep and efficiency. My mother-in-law
made the proper diagnosis: Male
post-partum blues!
My mother-in-law asked me NOT to put
her mildly ill grandchild in a daycare
center named "Grandma's House."
My son was disappointed with his 76%
grade on the chemistry final and Ida sent
him the following note:
Dear Grandson,
There is sufficient reward in life for
succeeding simply at the level of "doing
one's best." The plain truth is that you
are not a failure if you don't make the
top spot.
My 3-year-old asked my mother-in-law
to make him matzo brei.
My mother-in-law worried because she
heard that the students at Georgetown
University MATRICULATE TOGETHER.
My mother-in-law called from Century
Village, West Palm Beach, Florida, and
asked my husband to grab a pencil and
q-u-i-c-k-l-y copy down a very important
phone number: (56l) ....HERS! (We had
been negligent in calling her!)
My mother-in-law thought that a
"modem" was a carved American symbol.
My mother-in-law quoted that famous
slogan by Dr. Seuss: "You have 'em, I'll
amuse 'em.'"
My pre-school-age "bokherl" (youngster)
asked his grandma how old she was and
she responded, "I am, kineahora,
sixty-five."
My mother-in-law said that my family's
activities resemble a combination of
Leave it to Beaver and The Cosby Show,
______________________
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe became a
mother-in-law in for the first time in 1987.
She asks her readers, "Do you remember
the last time you told YOUR mother-in-law
that you love her?
___________________________________________ Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe is the author of
two books:
"Yiddish for Dog & Cat Lovers" and
"Are Yentas, Kibitzers, & Tummlers Weapons of Mass Instruction? Yiddish
Trivia." To order a copy, go to her
website: MarjorieGottliebWolfe.com
