It’s been an exhausting two weeks. It’s the end of the school year here in Israel and that means saying goodbye to all my own students.
I teach English in a one year college preparatory course to help girls in their late teens- early twenties get their Bagrut, the school leaving certificate. These are girls who for one reason or another didn’t manage to get it when they left school.
It’s an intensive year. People here marry young and continue to study and work so I had several married girls and some with children. One gave birth to her second son ten days before the final exam but she arrived wit her baby in a sling and nursed as she wrote and we babysat when she finished feeding him.
Another student who had been married for several years without children was visibly pregnant by the end of the year to everyone’s delight. We had celebrated engagements and weddings together and became as close as family by the time we parted tearfully .
At the other end of the spectrum, I was invited to all my grandchildren’s end of term parties – and these are done in real style over here and can take hours – even for those in kindergarten.
Being blessed with a large number of grandchildren I have spent many mornings and evenings recently in different schools and halls ‘kvelling’ as we say…….. and also taking photos and videos of the proceedings.
I thought my job as family photographer would end as my status changed from mummy to bubby but I guess my kids got used to me in that role and don’t want to let me give it up.
But now it’s vacation time and they, at least, can relax
