This week marks the start of the Jewish New Year. It is also the start of the school year as well. One son is going to be a sophomore in high school and…..drum roll please…..the other one is leaving for college! Yes, please bring out the violins, because this is the part that I start getting emotional.  Just last week, my son and I went to a Stanford new student barbecue in Brentwood. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and 20 Stanford- bound, fresh-faced kids gathered around to talk about their upcoming move. Us parents stood around in the shade and shared our excitement and our inevitable angst. We couldn’t be happier that our kids are going off to such a fine school. This part of our lives, fits in the natural progression of our lives, doesn’t it?  But it is still a bit of a bumpy ride for most of us.

When my son and I left the barbecue that day, I took a deep breath and looked down the tree-lined street. I turned and I looked up at him.  (He now towers over me).  I touched the back of his shoulder and pointed in front of us, “Do you see this street?”

He turned to me and said, ”Yeah Mom. Of course I do.”

“When you were just born, we used to live 2 blocks away from here.  Every afternoon I would put you in a stroller and walk down this very street. I loved it because it’s wide and has beautiful blooming trees,” I told him. “You know, I had this idea that kids love being pushed around in a stroller, that they would sit happily and watch the scenery. But you….you used to scream. After a few minutes you would want to jump right out of your stroller. I guess you didn’t like being strapped in, and so half the time I used to hold you in my arms and push the empty stroller along.”

My son’s face lit up. He likes to hear stories of his childhood– how his basic self-determined nature and his independent streak was even apparent at six months. Here he was at age eighteen, some things about him haven’t changed but one thing sure has.   For all you moms out there who don’t have a teenage son, let me save you from a bad mistake : the most embarrassing thing for a young man is to be caught hugging his mother.

So, while walking back to our car from the barbecue. I casually looked around to make sure that none of my son’s new friends hadn’t come out. I had my perfect public moment– the coast was clear. I quickly leaned into him for a hug. My voice was breaking, but I managed to get out what was on my mind the entire time at the barbecue.  “Here we are in this very street and you are ready to go my dear.” I tried to hold in my tears in front of him, but a few managed to escape.

I have a few days with him this week until he goes on his next adventure.  Who knows where we will be in our lives when we next walk down this magnificent tree-lined street.

As you all know from my web site, I can’t wait to go to a new destination—one that I have not been before.  My recent trip to Corsica was one of them!  I didn’t know what to expect. None of my close friends had visited but I had heard that it is a charming island.  I don’t know about you, but when people say “charming” or “interesting” to describe someone or someplace, I am apprehensive.

But there was nothing to worry about actually. Our hotel, although not super luxurious (there are no 5 star hotels in Corsica), was so beautiful.  It was located in the medieval city with beautiful restaurants and winding narrow streets.  What was more spectacular was the breath taking view of the port from our balcony.  A short walk down the hill led us to the port, which was packed with gorgeous yachts that travel through the coastline.

The beaches around Bonifacio were also something to behold—white sand and crystal clear, blue waters.  There is even a restaurant on an island that a boat can take you to for lunch.

We also spent a day hiking in the mountains (which had wonderful trails to a waterfall), and stopped by another quaint village and had an unbelievable lunch of osso bucco, duck confit.  We topped off our gourmet lunch with cheese and a chocolate soufflé. Thank Goodness we had gone for a hike!

Our last day was spent visiting Sardinia.  Sorry to spoil it for you all, but Corsica’s beaches are more beautiful, and the island of Sardinia is not as green.  Of course, Calla di Volpi is a beautiful hotel, but all in all I was so glad that we had stayed in Corsica for the duration of our stay.

Here are a few pictures of Corsica.  Now where should I go off to next????

I hadn’t felt this way about a film since I was 10 years old, sitting in a packed and darkened theatre, watching Stars Wars. At that moment, even as a little child, I felt I was witnessing a story that was larger than life. Yesterday, I was once again stunned and impressed by the story that unfolded before me in this season’s blockbuster movie, Inception.

As most of you know, I conduct workshops in dream interpretation. I have been a part of workshops for years and write down my most significant dreams in a journal.  Why do I do this? I believe that our subconscious mind often communicates in symbolic terms through dream imagery, and there are golden nuggets of truth to be uncovered when we chose to pay attention to that inner dialogue. There is a memorable quote in Inception that captures the spiritual nature of the dream state:  “It is only in dreams that the mind is creating and experiencing at the same time.”

To get a little synopsis of the movie, Inception: here is a link

The basic premise of this science fiction film is that there is a technology that enables us to enter the mind through dream invasion and sharing. Through this technology one could extract secrets and plant a seed of an idea deep within the subconscious during the dream state.  This idea then could grow and take shape in waking life. Christopher Nolan, who is the writer and director of this film, manages to tell a complicated story of how our memories, projections, and psychological defense mechanisms play such a central role in our decision making.  There are no words to describe the brilliance of the plot, where you are led from one dream state to another deeper one.  The tag line for the film is the true message: “Your mind is the scene of the crime.”

I left the film asking more philosophical questions such as: What is ultimate reality? Do we all go through life with our own version of reality, and how much of it is shared with others? How does our own thinking and memories skew our perception of truth? At what point do our deep-seated emotional experiences bubble up from our subconscious and find their way into our waking life?

This is one movie not to be missed this summer!