views 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 5