Thinking of My Grandmothers

由于混合家庭的复杂性，I was lucky enough to have grown up with three grandmothers.One of them had a birthday earlier this month,and another one turns 90 today!(Happy Birthday,Grandma.I love you!)

The flowers in my neighborhood are just blooming,which always reminds me of my third grandmother,who passed away just before my older daughter was born.In addition,my local Jewish Federation,
CJP
,is holding a

Bubbe contest

.All of this has gotten me thinking about my grandmothers,and just how amazing they are,是的。

One of them lived through World War II in Italy,and put her life at risk to help ios下载beplaysupport an underground anti-Fascist organization.She spoke four languages,and after moving to the United States,she ran a ladies' fine clothing store for decades.She thought "The Newlywed Game" was the best show on TV;当选手们给出错误的答案时，她对他们大喊大叫，每次他们提到“大喊大叫”时，都会大声笑出来。

Another one of my grandmothers was raised in an observant Jewish home,grew up to sing and dance on Broadway,讲述凯莉·格兰特和安妮·班克罗夫特的故事。She has culinary skills that would rival most professional chefs,有一次她去剧院看了《玛丽的某些事》，立即开车回家，picked up my grandfather,and took him to see it again.

My third grandmother studied physics in college and was invited to work on the atomic bomb in New Mexico (although she didn't know what it was at the time).She chose to focus on her family instead,and had a successful career teaching high school and college math.She's also been known to skinny dip in mountain lakes,but you didn't hear that from me.

他们之间，他们已经抚养并帮助抚养了八个孩子，twenty grandchildren,and nine great-grandchildren,with one more on the way.(For the record—not from me!) All of these women were devoted to their families,但从未忽视自己的利益和追求，太不可思议了，especially considering the times in which they accomplished everything.They were experts in linguistics,the arts,业务，and math and science in an age when most women were expected to stay home.(To be clear,I'm not stepping into the
latest battle of the Mommy Wars
here,which I think are a bit
absurd
.These were the choices my grandmothers made,but that doesn't mean they were right or wrong for anyone else.)

None of my grandmothers are or were the cookie-making,doily-crocheting type,and I love that about them.They're feisty and funky and funny,他们不容忍我们任何人的废话。Make no mistake,though,这些女人知道，and knew,how to spend time with their grandkids,how to read to us and play dress-up and card games and tell us stories about their lives and listen to what's going on in ours.My grandmothers are,and were,the matriarchs of the families,holding us together,关注家庭新闻，and reminding us of our roots,even as our family spreads throughout the country.

育儿不容易，and I don't always know what I'm doing.在那些时刻，当我试图平衡我的职业抱负和我的育儿目标时，我感到特别失落，I think of my grandmothers,who raised families while pursuing their careers and interests.This may be par for the course now,但那时不是。If they could do it,well,I'd like to think that I have their genes and guidance to help me out.为此，我非常感激。