Story of the Day 2/ 12/ 2012

Aaron called today, from Israel.

When he first arrived in Israel, after he had figured out the intricacies of using the calling card and the pay phone, we would get a few phone calls a week.
A few being somewhere around 5.
Since he couldn't call on Shabbat ( our Sabbath), and since we are occasionally not home, this meant he was calling daily.
This tapered off.
Rather quickly.

I was not sure if it tapered off because he was busy, because he was less homesick or because he didn't' want to be perceived as not being cool. But since we were still getting calls about twice a week, I didn't' worry about it. After all, what could have happened?
I mean other than having , G-d forbid, gotten some sort of disease spread by the mice running through the dorm, or, perhaps........

Recently, however, he has started calling with that old , much longed for ( by his lonely and worried old mother) frequency.

This is because he learned that his roommate, Aaron- the other Aaron who is also from Indiana, calls home every day.
Well, except for Shabbat.

And the other Aaron is cool. At least, he is relatively cool, since he is already done with his university education at Hebrew University and with the army. And he is even abel to grow something that resembles a beard
So, now that calling home can be equated with someone who has some cool characteristics, Aaron, my Aaron, has resumed this habit, relieving his mother of worrying that he might have been carted off to the hospital, or have fallen into coma from starvation, or.......

Anyhow, Aaron called home, today.
Since I speak with him almost daily there are a limited number of topics.

"How are you?"
"Fine."

"What did you do for Shabbat ( which was yesterday, meaning we haven't' spoken for an entire 48 hours.)? Did you eat at the yeshivah or did you go eat at a family?"
"I ate at a family."
"Friday dinner and Saturday lunch?"
"Yes, both of them."
"The same family or different families?"
"The same family."
"Did you eat well?"

(Can you tell that I am a Jewish mother? I mean, in addition to my other minor worrying attributes?)

"Yes, very well. But I keep meaning to stay at the yeshivah for Shabbat."
"Why?"
"Well, they spend a long time singing. But I feel bad saying I won't go, when they invite me. But they spend a long time singing."

Singing is not my son's strong point.
Unless they want to sing "Happy Birthday", which is usually not on the list of Shabbat songs.
Unless it is someone's birthday.
And , since he can't make out what people are singing ( it is much harder than figuring out words in a sentence, because the timing, the break between words and the tonality throw the decoding off, when you are deaf), he is usually just plain lost.

And also, being deaf, not the most appreciative audience.

"Well, and they were not just taking a long time singing, they were being all fancy about it. They were doing fancy vocal things; and I was bored , so I decided to wave my arms around."
For a moment, I thought he meant he was signing something.

" You know, conducting."
Ahhhhh...

"But they didn't' appreciate my doing that."
I wondered if they think he appreciates their singing, but I probably should not tell him my thought, in case he might say that.
And not get invited back again.

Although, since he would really rather just stay at the yeshivah, maybe I should allow him to copy his socially innappropriate mother's lead.....since I would have said it.