EdItoR's NoTe

The Jewish Community Cevrter of
Metropolitan Detroit
presents....

1999 Spring

'fake A Freak
Ai- The"4"

April 5th,6th, and 9th
9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Extended Care Available

$4 from 7:00-9:00 a.m. and $6 from 3:30-6:00 p.m.

Indefinable Love

here is nothing so dear as the
smell of a new baby.
Anyone who loves the
baby, and especially the parents,
seem to take on a bit of this unfor-
gettable scent. If you're careful it
will linger, like a perfume. You can-
not help but return again and again
to savor it. The scent is mesmeriz-
ing, indefinable.
Yes, how to describe it?
Start with its freshness, all
clean and pure. Perhaps
there's a drop of baby lotion
mixed in with mother's milk,
and the hint of new flowers
that have just begun to
bloom - babies are like little
rosebuds.
For all the beautiful poetry in the
English language, for all our experi-
ence maneuvering clever phrases

D. Dan Petty Kahn building

You simply

Preschool Play bays
Sports Variety Camp
Travel Camp
Spring Days

Jimmy ?rents Morris Odd*

Preschool Play bays
Spring Theme bays
Blade All bay at the "J"
A bay Filled with Art
Sports Carnival bay

For more information or a brochure, please
call the Kahn Building at (248) 661-7687
or the JPM Building at (248) 967-4030.

3/19
1999

74 Detroit Jewish News

cannot express

what you feel

for your children.

through business meetings, for all
the brilliant sentences we have pro-
duced in books and films and
plays, there is much we cannot do
with words. One of these is to
define the smell of a new baby.
Of course, there is much abouf
parental love that leaves us stum-
bling. You simply cannot express
what you feel for your children.
Even if you said, "I love you" from
now to eternity, it wouldn't begin to
describe your emotions.
Every now and then, though, you
come across something divine. One
of my favorites is a quote from
author Charles Dickens, who
expressed amazement that children
so fresh from God, love us."
I confess to getting teary-eyed,

"

too, at a Madonna song — a love
song for her daughter. "God gave
a present to me, made of flesh and
bone," she sings. And then, "Never
forget who you are, little
star/Never forget how to dream,
butterfly/Never forget where you
came from, from love."
I even adore a Barbra Streisand
song, when usually the mere
thought of Barbra Streisand
makes me nauseous. The
lyrics of "A Child is Born"
include: "A child is
born/We've suddenly
stepped through a thousand
doors. A child is born/Her
chin is like mine but her
eyes are yours. How perfectly
formed are her fingers/So far to
reach, so much to know. What
worlds will be formed by her fin-
gers? We'll hold her close, then let
her go.
Not that I have much of a singing
voice, but I would never make it
through that number. I would be
thinking of my own daughters and
start crying right away. It would be
mortifying for everyone involved.
I feel certain that you, too, have
favorite quotes that help define the
indefinable. Would you please take
a moment and send them my way?
Please note that I will include these
in a future issue of AppleTree, so if
you'd rather your name not be used
(though I hope you will), let me
know. ❑

Elizabeth Applebaum
AppleTree Editor

You may reach Elizabeth Applebaum
at (248) 354-6060, ext. 308 (voice
mail only), c/o The Jewish News,
27676 Franklin Road, Southfield, MI
48034, fax (248) 354-6069, or e-mail
philapple@earthlink.net