This morning started out pretty typical.  The children woke up, got dressed, had breakfast, brushed their teeth and put on their shoes.  All three, including the baby, who will be two in January, are pretty independant.  As the smallest of the three, he is constantly trying to keep up with his 4 and 5 year old siblings.  He tries his hardest to slip on his shoes before we head to the elevator.

After a brief war on who gets to push the button in the elevator, we approach our car, which today was parked in the aboveground lot, and the two big kids open the door, slide in and fasten their safety belts (in their boosters of course).  I pick up the baby, he protests, insisting that he can climb up into our SUV and into his safety seat on his own, and I force him (gently) into the safe confines of his car seat.

We are off.  Drop off is typically pretty smooth since all three of my children are on the same campus.  We approach the school campus, after a whopping three minutes in the car, and I escort each child to their respective cages and head back to my car.  Yes, I said cages.  In Israel, at least where I live, they build huge perimeter fences around the schools.  There is only one way in and one way out, and that’s through an armed guard.  I say hello to the guards, wish them a good day and head back to my vehicle.

As I approach my car, I see the Rav and his wife greeting each and every student as  they do every morning.  Americans by birth, we share a common bond and I also look forward to the opportunity to share a brief exchange before heading off to our daily routines.  Today’s exchange was on the current security situation and how I am dealing with it, specifically how I am keeping my children up to date. (Israel is currently in the midst of a wave of terror.  Arabs are stabbing Jews every chance they get.  It’s spreading throughout the country, even as I am blogging).

I explained to the Rav that this situation is completely different than the last few rounds of violence we have experienced.  Living in Ashdod, I have (and so have my children) become accustomed to rocket alerts, explosions and countermeasures. This, however, is different.  I explained to the Rav that I haven’t told my children anything.  My job as a parent is to make sure they smile, laugh and play, freely.  Telling them about potential stabbings and terrorists roaming the streets is counter productive.  After all, they are 5, 4 and almost 2.  How in the world can they comprehend that?  At 38, I have trouble comprehending that.  The Rav went on to explain to me how lots of parents were hysterical, rightfully so, but not fully thinking things through when they decide to share their hysteria with their children.  All that can come of this type of sharing is more hysteria.  More unnecessary stress for these little warriors.

The rockets, on the other hand, required a completely different approach.  I explained to the Rav that since sirens blare when an incoming rocket is flying from Gaza to my home, there is a need to explain to our children what the siren is for, how to react (calmly) and that everything will be okay.  I mean, I am not telling the entire story, that Omar Jihad in Gaza is launching a deadly rocket at us and could hit our building.  I am simply making them aware of what the loud noise is and how to react.

So there, you see, the difference between a rocket threat and a stabbing threat.

How was your drop off this morning?