Marilyn vos Savant received a letter
from Vickie Eddy. It read:
Dear Marilyn:
Did your
parents say the words "I love you" while you were growing up and in later
years? Many children and adults wish their parents had said, "I love
you" at least once while the parents were still living. They wanted
and needed to hear those three important words.
She replied, "No,
my parents didn't do that, but it was totally unnecessary. Why I didn't have
to be told
that my mother and father loved me any more than I had to be told that the
sun comes up every morning. It is obvious.
On Sept.
26, we celebrate "Mishpuha" (Family)
Day. Family Day is a national initiative to promote parental engagement in
children's lives to help reduce youth substance ab risks and raise healthier
kids. Shown below are some of my favorite "family" words.
Mishpucha
Family. A "gantse
mishpucha" Mishpokhe means the whole family.
In a
family "shvanger" (pregnant).
This way and "with child" were two euphemisms cited by Johnny
Carson on "The Tonight Show" for pregnant in 1974.
Family
(How to improve)
The best way communi- to open up lines of communica- cations tion with
all your
children is to go to "bet" (bed) early with your spouse, turn
on some romantic "muzik" (music) and lock the "shloftsimer" (bedroom)
door. Your entire family will soon be camped outside your bedroom door
with urgent matters to be discussed in depth. (Bruce Lansky)
"Kidsomnia" The
inability to fall asleep once one starts thinking about one's family. (Lenore
Skenazy)
Dry-cleaner
parents
Parents who simply drop off their unruly children at "der klastsimer" (the
schoolroom) and expect to have them all cleaned up by the end of the day.
Video
visit A videotape
recording of "di mishpokhe" that the nursing home staff uses
to supplement visits.
"Sendvitsh" Sandwich
generation The members of society who have both dependent children and
dependent parents.
Toddler REST remover. (Ambrose
Bierce)
Latchkey Those who learn to use
the Child microwave early. (Merrill Furman)
Motel Children of families living
in motels Children and supported by welfare programs.
Elder abuse The physical, psychological,
or verbal mistreatment of elderly people.
Diaper drama Diaper play A theatrical
play that focuses on the problems of adults learning to get on successfully
with their own parents.
"Shvanger" Pregnant
woman She who puts up a big front. (Ambrose Bierce)
Divarriage The continuing overinvolvement
of these once-married, now- divorced parents with one-foot-in-and-one-foot-out
relationship.
Henhussy "cotqueen" "betty" "Der
man" (The husband) or live-in male who busies himself with housework
more commonly done by women ("di baleboste").
Keep
the line going
To maintain the existence of a family by having children, especially "der zokher" (the
male) children.
Peter
Pan Syndrome The
unwillingnes of an adult to take on traditional adult behavior, such as
living at "heym" with
one's "tate-mame" (parents), not marrying, etc.
Awkward
age Too "alt" (old)
for Dr. Dentons... too "yung" (young) for Dr. Scholl's. (Erma
Bombeck)
Montessoria
The disorder
wherein a child is smarter than either the "tate-mame" and grows
more so each day.
"Elter" (Senior)
Citizen An extraordinary consumer, or consumptive. One who, having weathered
the
hell of Job and the hysteria of Boss, has attained to the cupidity of Heirs.
One untaxable insignifcant. (R. W. Jackson)
Multiplication tables We've named
our kids Bulova, Gruen, Waltham, Elgin, Wittnauer, and Benrus. They keep
coming like clockwork. (Sam Levenson)
Kodak
Moments" All of us
experience those "Kodak Moments" in our lives. They can occur
under the chuppah, at "di geburt" (the birth) of a child, at
the passing of a crisis, at a celebration of achievement, or when least
expected. (Rabbi Aryeh Rodin)
"Spockmanhip" Anarchy
in families, a lack of discipline, and a loss of firm parental control.
(Spiro T. Agnew)
Informal
caregiver A
person who cares for "der khaye" (sick person) without pay (as
opposed to a formal caregiver assigned by a social service agency).
"Daddy-Mac "Dos gruntyeygns" (real
estate) term for parents who give a child "gelt" ($) (with no
estate and gift tax liability) so that the child can qualify for a loan.
__________
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe celebrates "Family Day"
with her husband,
Howard, their three sons and their families.
She reminds her readers that "families
that eat together, stay together."
___________________________________________ 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
