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The
Story
for openers
Happy New Year
H
ow is it 2018? How?
sions that made us especially happy,
I mean, it feels like just a
sad, angry or scared. And you’ll only
little while ago we were filling remember the emotion-filled real
the bathtub because they were pre-
scared like when your kid comes
dicting the toilets wouldn’t
home two hours later than
flush because of Y2K.
scheduled and hasn’t called.
Where has all the time
You’ll eventually forget all those
gone?
times you covered a particu-
And … oy vey. Back when
larly ferocious-looking spider
I was filling that tub, I was
with a cup and then noticed
a young newlywed and
the empty, overturned cup
now I’m someone who
before your designated rescuer
says, “Where has all the
arrived … and spent the next
Rochel Burstyn
time gone?” which techni-
two hours jumping out of your
cally means I’ve crossed
pants every time you caught
the threshold into old age.
sight of a ball of fluff or string
Young people never say
on the carpet.
that. Young people always
Essentially, we only remem-
seem to have “time to kill” or “time
ber the big stuff that happens
to spare” while folks with many years
amongst all those many, many mun-
under their belts and hairs creeping
dane minutes of making sandwiches,
out of their ears are always moaning
tying shoelaces, looking for the phone,
about where the time has gone.
picking up stray cups off the floor and
I remember, many years ago, my
driving carpool…. All those moments
mother-in-law telling me, “I deserve
are pretty much lost to time.
a mazel tov. I just drove my last car-
pool!” At the time, I had just one tiny
baby and could barely understand her
undiluted joy, but now that I’m busy
with carpool every day, I get it. There
is a part of my very soul that is count-
ing down the seconds ’til I reach that
same milestone and the privilege of
passing the carpool driving baton on
to my own kids, who will then hope-
fully realize just how annoying it is
to be chivvied on by a shrill “Hurry!
Or I’ll get in trouble for being late!”
(Equally as annoying as their sib-
lings of the “Just let me sleep. I don’t
get care if I get detention” variety …
which always keeps things spicy in
the mornings),
As I always remind one particular
child: There is nothing that makes me
slow down more than hearing some-
one banging on the bathroom door
and yelling at me to hurry up.
The weird thing is when we think
back over the past year, people tend
to remember the big events, accom-
plishments or milestones, the occa-
And amazingly enough, it’s usu-
ally the feelings we experienced that
are more memorable than the actual
event. Who doesn’t remember the
aggravation of the carpool line? Or
the frustration of marching around
the house calling your cell phone with
the landline, while cocking your ear
like an expectant puppy and won-
dering “Did I leave it in the car? Is it
dead? Where the #$%^ is it?!”
The exciting blank slated-ness of
a new year is thrilling, and I wish
you many wonderful memorable
moments; but let’s not kid ourselves.
There’s going to be a lot of mundane
stuff as well. So here’s my 2018 bless-
ing for you: May you never be cut
off while driving, may your cleaning
lady always arrive on time, may your
bathroom lock always work, may
you always find things where you left
them and may spiders never be found
in your bathtub. •
As leaders of their agencies,
Nancy Heinrich of Jewish Senior
Life and Perry Ohren of Jewish
Family Service each provide a great
deal to Jewish community members
in need. When programs or services
are mutually beneficial, cooperation
is key, so the agencies joined forces
with Hebrew Free Loan to support
the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Older
Adult Care Loan Fund (KOACLF)
housed at HFL. The fund assists
seniors and their families with
funding some of the costs of living
comfortably as they age. Working
together, the agencies can benefit
a greater number of residents than
each could alone.
“It’s one great tool in our toolbox,”
said Perry. “What the KOACLF can
do for JFS clients, for example, is
help pay for therapies or home
modifications or equipment that our
seniors need to age in place.”
“In life we have transitions, and
those can be costly,” Nancy said.
“We might not be prepared right
then to meet those expenses. The
KOACLF could help fill a gap.”
The fund, Nancy and Perry said,
can help seniors and their loved
ones keep their options open, adapt
to the circumstances that arise in
their lives, and offer choices.
“Whether it’s a home setting or
senior apartments like ours, no two
situations are alike,” Nancy said.
“It’s good for family and caregivers
to know they can call us to get to a
network of options.”
Perry agreed. “Regardless of the
need, if JFS doesn’t have the
answer, we know who does,” he
said. “It doesn’t matter if your point
of entry is us or someone else. It’s
good for our community when our
agencies link arms in support. We
all benefit.”
Click. Call. Give Now.
www.hfldetroit.org
248.723.8184
Health. A fresh start.
A good education.
The next great business idea.
Hebrew Free Loan gives interest-
free loans to members of our
community for a variety of
personal and small business
needs. HFL loans are funded
entirely through community
donations which continually
recycle to others, generating
many times the original value
to help maintain the lives of
local Jews.
6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 300 • Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301
Hebrew Free Loan Detroit
jn
@HFLDetroit
January 11 • 2018
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