THE
BATTLE
FOR
JERUSALEM

GueSt CoLumn

A Day In The Life

Tara Zdrojewski
Special to AppleTree

You are invited to meet and hear

MORTON
KLEIN

National President, Zionist
Organization of America,
named by the National Jewish
Weekly, The FORWARD, as
"one of the top five Jewish
leaders in the U.S. today."

SUNDAY,
APRIL 2
2:30 P.M.

ZOA Office Auditorium
(JNF Bldg. )

17100 W. 10 Mile Rd.

(East of Southfield Road)

Refreshments

For reservations, please phone:

(248) 569.1515

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ST

3/31

2000

112

t was a typical Thursday
afternoon when I came
home from Hillel Day
School. The whole week had
been so exciting because my
mom was expecting to have a
baby very, very soon!
As I sit at the table with my
dad and sister, we hear a faint
moan from upstairs. It's my mom. Rana, 10; Zoe, 4 months; and Tara,
Rushing around like a bunch of
13, are three happy sisters.
maniacs, we climb into the car,
completely forgetting all that has
We go to my mom% room. "It will be
to be done at home. It is 7:30 p.m.
quite awhile, but I think I am having
I My heart is racing so fast, and my
this baby today!" she says. So my dad,
brain is running around in circles.
my sister and I go to the cafeteria.
As we get closer to the hospital, my
The day seems to get longer by
eyes dart about in wonder and
the second. It is now 6 p.m. Friday.
excitement. "This is really it!" I think.
We are all under so much stress.
We are escorted to a room where
Each second seems like a minute,
the doctor explains that my mom is
each minute seems like an hour,
not quite ready yet, but perhaps by
each hour feels like a day.
the morning she will be.
After roaming the halls, eating
"Mom has to stay here in the
five times in the hospital cafeteria,
hospital? Overnight?" my sister
and after watching two hours of
and I groan.
boring, old television, we are
I remember that night. I do not get
greeted by the nurse who walked
any sleep. The suspense is too great,
into the waiting room.
but the morning is finally here.
"Who wants to have a baby?"
"You're not going to school today,"
she asks cheerfully. One by one,
my dad says. "We are going to visit I . we pile into the room, not making a
your mother." We do.
sound. Around us, there is all sorts
Again, we walk through the same
of equipment: needles, machines,
doors, onto the shiny, squeaky floor.
blankets, monitors, and so much

Tara Zdrojewski, 13, of Farm-
ington Hills is an eighth-grader at
Hillel Day School of Metropolitan
Detroit. Her parents are Alisa and
Randy Zdrojewski.

.

more weird stuff. As the time draws
nearer, my mom begins to moan —
not just any moan, but a moan that
says, "All right, it's time!"
The nurses come rushing in. My
mother's friend, Edie; my dad; my

sister and I are all there. As the
doctors begin the procedure, my
sister and I look away. At first, I am
terrified. "What if something goes
wrong, or what if I pass out?"
But all my questions seem to van-
ish into thin air. I have no time to
think. My mom is having a baby!
Time passes, and it is already 8:30
p.m. No baby yet.
But wait! My eyes gaze to the left,
and I see the top of the head that will
be my new baby sister.,Screams. Yells.
Pain. Fear. I am speechless.
There, right before my eyes, at
9:31 p.m., is my newborn baby
sister, Zoe Katherine (Chava Yas-
mine) Zdrojewski, named in memo-
ry of our grandmother, Esther
Katherine Liebman.
I hear Zoe's high-pitched, gurgly cry,
and tears run down my face. I am
filled with joy. I have witnessed the
birth of a human being. It is an experi-
ence unimaginable, and almost too
hard to describe. It is the most beauti-
ful event in the world! The nurses give
the baby to my mom.
Everyone is crying with laughter. As
I watch my sister, she cries. I cry too.
I am happy. The greatest gift a per-
son can give is life.
Afterward, she is weighed. Eight
pounds 11 ounces. Talk about a baby!
We all smile, and cast our eyes
upon the new person introduced to
us in our very own world, in our very
own presence.
She is beautiful. She has pink, chub-
by cheeks and a pudged-in nose. Her
mouth opens, and out comes a sound
of happiness and tears. It is a memo-
ry that will last all our lifetimes. The
birth of my new sister, born that Friday
night, gives us all another something
to look forward to in life. Everybody
cries with joy. Even Zoe.

❑

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