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I always heard from friends, "I wish I
had a mom like yours" or, Can I
adopt her?" This comment is now
repeated among Susie's children's
friends, who wish they had a
I 'Gammy"
theirs.
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her mother, Susie remains active at
Adat Shalom, where she has served
on the synagogue board, as co-chair-
man of the membership committee, on
the congregation's long-range plan-
ning committee, and on the Syna-
gogue 2000 committee — a new -
projec; geared toward making syna-
gogue life more accessible to the Jew-
ish community
She frequently reads Torah for the
congregation and uttends services
regularly, as do her children. Friday
night is an important time in Susie's
I house. She makes the meal; the chil-
1 dren say the brachot (blessings).
There's always something for every-
: one at dinner. Most in the family like
chicken soup with matzah balls or
rice or noodles. But Max also gets his
favorite of mushroom-barley. They
have salad, and chicken baked with
icorn flake crumbs, plus a chicken with
sweet-and-sour sauce — for Max.
The meal also includes couscous
and roasted potatoes, a vegetable,
I and br(•nies or mandel bread. After-
! ward, everyone has a cup of tea.
Mealtime discussion focuses on the
!week's activities, which continues into
the evening when there's a late-night
snacK of sunflower seeds (a tradition
j Susie's mother remembers from when
she was little). The family likes to play
card games and sing (although Susie
I says her children cover their ears
when she sings).
I It is much like what Susie herself
I recalls from when she was young.
"When people ask about my child-
: hood, what I remember most was sit-
ting around the table and being with
my family."
in addition to enjoying Shabbat, the
I family ,eeps kosher in their home,
and Inc) Only food they eat out is
I dairy oi fish. While the majority of
her friends do not observe the same
i standards of kashrut, Susie remains
undaunted.
"We never think anything of it," she
says. "It's part of our life, and we're
proud of our heritage." (Laughing, she
adds that friends often call her son
Max 'the kosher patrol" because he'll
come to their homes and search
through the pantry, only to pull out an
item and call "Ahal" as he finds
something treif [not kosher]. "And you
call yourself kosher," he'll say. "Look at
the label on this!")
Unlike many parents, Susie doesn't
hear groaning about school.
"My children love Hillel," she says.
"In fact, we joke that the greatest
threat is, 'If you act up then you don't
get to go to Hillel."' Both Max and
Hannah are honor students in English
and Hebrew. "School is like a family
for them," Susie says. "And it has
become like a family for me, too. I've
made a lot of great friends there, and
we often enjoy holidays together."
In addition to school, there are
piano, dance, hockey, baseball, soc-
cer, swimming and tennis lessons. (Try
to make an appointment with Susie
Goldenberg, and as she looks
through her date book you'll hear,
"Okay, at 5:30 I'm taking Vanessa to
... and that evening Max has ... and
the next day I'm driving Hannah to
,,)
l•
Susie admits it can be challenging.
Because she is a single mother, "from
early in the morning until late at night,
I do everything. I'm always wonder-
ing, 'Do I have you in the right
places?" (Once, she admits, she took
the children to a sukkah party on the
wrong day).
After work there's no rest. There's
homework. She helps Max and Han-
nah, then spends time cuddling with
Vanessa. After they go to bed, it's time
to pack lunches and organize back-
packs for school the next day. At least
once a week Susie will make an extra
trip 10 Hillel because someone forgot
something, and she makes it a point
to attend all school programs and
games. "I'm there for them and they