The saga of Sunday October 27, 2024 through Tuesday October 29, 2024 in Caesarea, Israel
Sunday morning, My mother, Eitan, and I took an 8:27AM train to Tel Aviv for his dental appointment. We were all hopeful that this would be the final appointment for his dental saga. By this point the pain in his tooth had subsided, but his jaw was still swollen. My new best friend Dafna greeted us in the waiting room where we waited for a Dr. Tal Becker who came highly recommended. He was patient, quiet, calm, and kind. After a quick check he determined 1) Eitan was in dire need of an immediate root canal and 2) the problematic tooth’s nerve had died, which is why he was no longer in pain. He informed us that the root canal might take two or three appointments to finish depending on how Eitan did. A few minutes later he began the root canal with a focus on cleaning the pulp of all bacteria.
My mom and I were so impressed by Eitan who did a phenomenal job. Not once did he complain or freak out. A year ago he needed valium just to go to the dentist’s office. This time, Eitan was more composed than we were. Truthfully, my mom had a harder time watching the root canal than Eitan who was the patient. Perhaps there are some things that phase her.
Afterward, we got Eitan a milkshake to help settle him after almost an hour of laughing gas. I mean, who doesn’t buy a ridiculously sugary drink for their child after tooth surgery?!? On the train ride home Eitan felt slightly nauseated. The nausea continued after we got home. While we were out, Chaim took the other boys for much needed haircuts.
October is Chaim’s busiest season. He had been working very long days and we had barely seen him. He was eager to get out and do something with the family. We took Shai, Matanel, and Amichai to Caesarea Port to run around. Eitan stayed behind with my parents due to his nausea. As the boys played, Chaim and I finally had a moment to sit and talk alone. It might have been the first time we had to ourselves in a long time. We savored that moment.
After a month of dental woes dictating our schedule, we finally felt like we could look forward to implementing some of the goals we’d had for our time in Israel. My Uncle Levi began learning with Amichai once a week, my mother began teaching him life sciences, a Hebrew tutor started working with the boys, and I did better at implementing more robust learning schedules and creative lessons for the boys. Just in time to stop everything and head to Tanzania.
However, we couldn’t go to Tanzania without trying to sail one last time. Tuesday morning, the morning before we were supposed to leave for Addis Ababa, our Hebrew teacher came to work with the boys at 8:15AM. Then, I managed to grab a last-minute sail time from 11:30AM-12:30PM. My father, Chaim, the boys and I hurried to the rental club only to receive a phone call as we were parking to let us know we might not be able to sail. I was working hard to maintain my emotional regulation. All I wanted was for my children to experience what it’s like to sail on a catamaran, ideally with their Poppop on board. The boys played on the beach with Chaim while my father and I waited to find out the verdict. Of course, the winds got higher the longer we waited. However, the staff member allowed us to sail within the reef for ten minutes with a guide just to give the boys a “taste” of what it’s like. There wasn’t really enough room for all of us and my father wanted our whole family to be able to go so he kindly chose to stay behind. Although I was disappointed about that, I appreciated how much the boys enjoyed the short sailing trip. Amichai thought it was calming and they all said they’d want to go again even if the water was cold. Mission accomplished!
