By Malkie Gordon Hirsch Magence
I suffer from the almost constant guilt of writing about things other than what’s going on in our world today.
Instead, I usually like to stick to what’s happening in my world.
To me, that doesn’t mean I’m in denial or that I find myself repeating what thousands of others are already currently documenting.
It just means that I know there are people out there who need to find an escape from that, possibly found within a random piece of writing belonging to a wonderful compilation of articles referred to as the Five Towns Jewish Times. And hopefully this is where I step in.
Everyone handles coping with life issues in various ways.
After years of having to navigate myself and my kids through unthinkable tragedy, I know that the way we do it is by focusing on the things we love to do.
Grief is the type of appendage that once affixed, cannot ever fully be eradicated.
It’s there to stay, and you just need to figure out how to coexist with the feelings that occasionally will be successful in taking over hours and sometimes days of your life.
So while we hold that life-altering experience of losing a husband and father, we’re also able to enjoy winter break trips, and appreciate getting back to loving all that life has to offer.
In our world today, where at every point we turn, there are more and more people who want us to know that we aren’t welcome here or anywhere, it’s impossible to not feel ashamed, dejected, and anxious for our future and our children’s future.
With the age of internet, social media being our current mainstay of communication, fighting those antisemitic, ignorant internet trolls could be a full-time job. At times, it’s also an exercise in futility, in my personal opinion. This isn’t to say that there aren’t people out there who are knowledgeable enough to take on those who have collectively jumped on the antisemitic bandwagon because apparently it’s the cool trendy thing to do.
But my plan of action has always been and will continue to be to look at the bright side of things. It’s different dinner ideas, it’s quips on raising kids today, it’s light with an occasional sprinkle of serious. It’s the way I’ve always laid out my articles and the way I live life in general.
While there’s always plenty to stress about, there’s also so much to be grateful for. This might make me sound like a granola crunching hippie who strums songs of peace and love on my social media account, but that’s far from the truth.
But like many others out there who know where their abilities lie, I know my own as well, so I choose to write about things I do know about and will continue doing that in this column.
It’s what I love about that nightly respite of spending time scrolling different social media platforms. While social media may do a perfunctory job of wasting precious time, there’s also so much to learn. And while most media channels speak of the same thing with various personalities, all I want to do is learn about new food trends or how to achieve the best vegan buttercream.
All I want to do is keep my family happy and safe and usher them into adulthood the way I’m supposed to. I know that I’m not alone in this sentiment, which is why I know this content is valuable to many.
We’re currently on our way back from our family’s winter break trip, spent in Florida. Every activity we went on and every restaurant we ate out at was based on recommendations from people who follow my daily goings on and helped by telling us, the ones who don’t frequent the specific area we were in, what to do and where to eat.
I’m the type who scans a menu at a restaurant and instead of deciding what to eat based on what I’ve always liked in the past, I ask the person waiting on my table. I love hearing from the staff, from the natives who live in specific neighborhoods, from the ones who are experts in their various fields on their input.
I suppose that’s why what I do is so suitable for me. I’m curious about people and their surroundings. I love learning about how their lives differ from mine and I want my kids to have the same opportunity to learn from others too.
And while I might shy away from politics in general, I’m also well aware of who I am, and where I come from. Everyone who chooses to be outspoken in different media outlets has an opportunity to let their voice be heard.
I live my life a certain way, and raise my family in accordance with the upbringing I had. We’re Jewish, and we’re proud. If I don’t write about it weekly, know that that’s how I felt yesterday, how I feel today, and for all the days to come.
Malkie Gordon Hirsch Magence is a native of the Five Towns community, a mom of 5, a writer, and a social media influencer.
