ter Works 1ms, Inc. HELPING JEWISH FAMILIES GROW PUBLISHED BY THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Publisher Arthur Horwitz Editor Elizabeth Applebaum Art Director Debbie Schultz Contributing Writers Lynne Konstantin Mark Lichterman Diane Schaefer Jill Davidson Sklar Copy Editors/Proofreaders Phillip Applebaum Alan Hitsky Photographer Daniel Lippitt Business Manager Marianne B. Taylor Production Manager Curtis DeLoye Assistant Production Manager Gayle Baldi Production Nancy Cameron, Cathy Ciccone, Marla Cooper, Leslie Joseph, Ralph Orme, Holly Piskie Accounting Manager Linda McCarthy Office Staff Heather Bondy, Tobie Kuppe, Sue Maniloff, Susie Sherman, Brigette Thompson Fulfillment Supervisor Paula Smith Marketing Manager Illana P. Greenberg Advertising Director Shari Cimino Senior Account Executive Danny Raskin Account Executives Heidi Brandemihl, Ellen Finn, Kathy Johnson, Betsy Leemon, Patricia McMurray, Rick Nessei, Michelle Weyh, Lisa Wylin Graphic Designer Todd Skiba Inside Sales Dharlene Norris Classified Sales Karin Indig PUBLISHED BY: The Jewish News Group of Waterspout Communications LLC Founder Charles A. Buerger Executive Vice Presidents Andrew A. Buerger, Arthur M. Horwitz, Sylvia Boyko Stafford Corporate Art Director Robyn Katz Display Ad Deadline: Monday, 4:30 pm Offices: 27676 Franklin Road Southfield, Ml 48034 810-354-6060 General 810-354-6060 Display Advertising 810-354-6069 Editorial Fax 810-354-1210 Advertising Fax 810-354-6620 Circulation THE APPLETREE (USPS 275-520) IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY AS A SUPPLEMENT TO THE JEWISH NEWS AT 27676 FRANKLIN ROAD. SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN.PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID AT SOUTH- FIELD. MICHIGAN AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POSTMAS- TER: SEND CHANGES TO: DETROIT JEWISH NEWS, 27676 FRANKLIN ROAD. SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN 48034. ©COPYRIGHT 1997 DETROIT JEWISH NEWS T hese days, it is not unusual to find me awake at 2 a.m., at 3:30 a.m., and then again at dawn. I watch in- fomercials and tabloid TV and "Wild, Wild West" reruns. I read a lot. I drink copious amounts of orange juice and, when I can find them, Ver- nor's slurpees. Last January I gave birth to - my third child, a little girl named Talya Devora. It was a fairly easy labor (if you can ever call labor easy), and I was fortunate enough to have a terrific doctor, Jerrold Wein- berg, to deliver her. Talya is a dark-haired beauty who smiles a lot, is easygoing and says "goo" in a tiny voice that's so sincere, so eager to please it never fails to move me to tears. When Talya gets up to nurse in the middle of the night I am glad that we have time alone together. Childbirth is the most mirac- ulous of occurrences -- more wondrous for me than the part- ing of the Red Sea, the Ten Plagues, the manna from heav- en. The mystery of it all is in- comprehensible, inexplicable. The urgency I feel to record my children's every look, their every clever or thoughtful or charming comment, is over- whelming. I do not want to forget the way my eldest daughter, Adina, looks while she'S kissing Talya and calling her "my little sweetheart." I want to remember how, when I told my 3-1 /2-year-old son, Yitzhak, "Oh, Yitz, I'm so glad you're my boy," he answered "Oh, Mommy, I'm so glad you're my girl." My fear at the fragility of ex- Talya Devora Applebaum istence — because everything passes too quickly and could be gone in a heartbeat -- is tem- pered only by my gratitude for all my blessings. I have a favorite song, "Papir Iz Doch Vays," in which the singer yearns not for gold or sil- ver but simply to be with her sweetheart in a small house on a hill. So, too, do I feel content, and endlessly fortunate, to live in a nice little house with my true love and our children. Having children is, I am con- vinced, the nicest thing in life. It makes you humble and pa- tient and develops your sense of humor (how else to survive the dreaded bedtime hour?). And above all, it proves the power of love. "Before you were conceived, I wanted you," author Mau- reen Hawkins wrote in The Miracle. "Before you were born, I loved you. I would die for you. This is the miracle of life." ❑ Elizabeth Applebaum Editor et us help design an aquarium for your one or office that will not only sooth the fragile nerves but provide an opportunity for imaginations to run wild! With our expertise. . .We will create ail '‘aquatic display thatyou, your family, friends or clients will enjoy foryears to come. Your invited to stop in and enjoy our beautifully animals maintained showroom of rare '4;m around the world. and live coital MAINTENANCE SALES • LEASING S.E. Corner of Farmington & E. Grand River Inside the Village Mall