Orel Family

My first visiting day: 1973. The nest is empty again: The kids are off at camp. As it was last year , Elianna is off to Camp Ramah in Canada , and Aaron is off to Ramah Outdoor Adventure in Colorado. The house is quiet. The food goes more slowly. The days seem longer... and yet they go by too quickly. Arriving at her 2nd home: Camp Ramah. I was a Ramah camper too, at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires . For me, Ramah was a transformative experience. " From  what to  what?," I might ask in a less cheerful moment; but there are still things from that first summer that I keep with me. A feeling of warmth and belonging that I'd never quite had before. The sound of birkhat hamazon -- the grace after meals -- being sung by 600 kids in unison at the first camp meal, giving me the impression of massive bells ringing. Getting ready for shabbat on Friday afternoon, when we'd wear all white. The singing at the Friday evening services, where I could sing and not feel self-...

The days are long and hot. I've gone through the cherries, and the strawberries, and on to the red raspberries and now my hands and arms are sore from the prickers of the black raspberries. The snap peas grew, were snapped up and devoured. Lettuce, too. I've done battle with the mosquitoes to get to the summer apples. And still, no tomatoes! Waiting, waiting, waiting. Lori plants the seeds in February, they grow under grow-lights in the basement until April 1, but this year was later as the weather stayed cold. Then, outside in the walls of water. And, finally when frost is no longer a threat, uncovered. Sometimes the cherries will be ready first, but usually a hybrid variety called 4th of July. Every year, it seemed, we'd get a mention in the Detroit Free Press for early tomatoes; our best was one year when a cherry delivered on May 31. This year, though, there was nothing early. The poplars next door blocked out too much sun. Nothing in June. Got back fro...