JWOW

The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 jewish women of wisdom

Summers, Past and Present

By Miriam Liebermann, MSW

It’s been 40 years since we first summered in Quaker Hill Cottages in Monroe. We raised our children there. We acquired fabulous friends. We are forever grateful. It was the perfect summer setting for our family. But then a strange thing happened. One day, I grew up. Our children grew up. We began to go only for Shabbosos, and that worked well for several years. We enjoyed our cottage, the lovely Shabbos atmosphere, our dear friends. But as of this year, we have gracefully bowed out, and instead, our children moved in and a splendid time was had by all.

I have the most beautiful memories; the many acts of kindness that I greatly benefited from. I remember when I came down to the pool with our youngest; he was an infant at the time. He simply did not stop crying. Fryde came over and said, “Miriam, you need to take him to a doctor. Go home, get dressed. I’m coming to pick you up in 20 minutes.” And so she did. The good doctor actually sent us off to the hospital with Hatzalah. G-d bless you, Fryde! I remember when I was suffering from a very painful back episode and Yehudis took me to the chiropractor. I remember when we experienced a tragic loss in our family. I had to travel overseas for the levaya. Sharon drove me to the highway to meet up with my brother.

I remember when I was quite ill and unable to function properly. Esther and Penina did my laundry for me. Now this was during the early years before we had our own washing machines and dryers. They marched down the hill with our family’s laundry. What a huge chessed at the time! I remember when my dear friends decided that my wardrobe needed a bit of sprucing, and they then took me shopping. Thank you dear Cirel, Fryde, Esther and Penina. How thoughtful of you!

I will always recall how exceedingly gracious my dear friends were to my mother, a”h. Mother, widowed at a young age, joined us often for Shabbos, from the very start, 40 years ago. All greeted my mother with such warmth and affection. This was probably the greatest chessed of all and warmed my heart so.

And Gali, my dear, dear Gali. Gali and I had been closest of friends after we met as teenagers in Camp Chedvah. Sadly, we had lost touch with each other for several years. Thankfully, Gali joined the Quaker Hill family, and we quickly revived our friendship – till 120!

I’ve learnt quite a great deal from my summer friends. Yehudis, anticipating our

empty nest years, looming up ahead, would advise us already a decade ago, “Get a life!” Goldie encouraged me to care of my health. Make sure you have your annual physical and carry through with all the recommendations. Thank you, Goldie! Miriam was my summer neighbor for several years. She is absolutely passionate over chinuch for high school girls. How many hours we spent discussing this topic. And I’m pleased to report, I believe I absorbed a bit of her passion. Thank you, Miriam!

So many fabulous discussions and conversations. So many insights gleaned from my wise friends. Thank you, Tzirel! Thank you, Libby! Thank you, Mina! Thank you, Chavie! This has always been a group of growing women, growing together, blossoming, bearing beautiful fruits. What a nachas to watch the young ones grow up and return with spouses and families. What a thrill!

And Esther, my perfect neighbor, taught me years ago to read nonfiction. Forty years ago, many of us were still busy with our Redbook, Good Housekeeping and Reader’s Digests. Our literature would soon develop, but it took a while. Esther, G-d bless her, expanded my world exponentially. I’m forever grateful!

I’m incredibly grateful to all my country friends. Each one individually enhanced my summer experience. Each friendship expanded my world further. Thank you, Hashem, for placing us in the perfect summer setting, and it was perfect! Hodu l’Hashem. And I do hope to keep in touch. May we all meet up at joyous occasions, G-d willing!

I loved those years. But at this point in time, I no longer want to sit in the car for hours coming and going. I have absolutely no desire or inclination to maintain two households during the summer, especially without proper cleaning help. And our cottage is up a hill, a relatively steep hill that has amazingly gotten steeper over the years. I no longer want to walk up that hill again and again. I just don’t want to shlep our groceries up the hill again and again – or our suitcases. Enough is enough. Thankfully, my dear husband is in agreement with me. That’s a big deal!

Probably though, the most important factor is that thankfully we now live in Lawrence. There’s no need to run away every summer. We have our gloriously colorful garden that brings us enormous joy. And we have our neighbors’ gardens that I enjoy immensely. Thank you, Kayla and Blima Chaya! We have our lovely backyard, which we enjoy every evening. We have our red robins! We have our neighbors, our friends, our fabulous shuls. And with copious thanks to Miriam, Susan and Esther, I’ve been swimming regularly during the summer months with my dear friend Debby. What an enormous act of chessed it is to welcome friends to your pool. So exceedingly gracious and generous of you! May you be blessed, ad bli dai. We have our beaches and our boardwalks. What a blessing! Hodu l’Hashem!

There’s a time for everything. It was time for us to move on. I’m so grateful that we’ve done so. My very wise mother, a”h, would say, “All good things come to an end.” I would add: “New ends lead to new beginnings.” A new chapter has begun! Hodu l’Hashem ki tov ki l’olam chasdo.

So many fabulous discussions and conversations. So many insights gleaned from my wise friends.