Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

And by holiday, I mean I missed a blog post and focused on doing other things that needed doing…at least until it was time to leave for Clearfield and a Labor Day BBQ with my in-laws. I’m posting today, however, because I finished Ruth Behar’s Letters from Cuba over the weekend, and it was seriously SO GOOD! (Did I just sound like a teenager there? Possibly. But I slept really, really badly last night.)

Ruth Behar was heavily inspired by her own family history in Letters from Cuba; in it we have Esther, the oldest child of a Polish family, joining her father in Cuba to help earn money to get the rest of their family out of Poland. She is charmed by the friendliness of the Cuban people, as well as the sunshine, abundant fruits, and mix of cultures. Unfortunately, even Cuba isn’t completely free of anti-Semitism, making it harder for Esther and Papa to earn the money they need, even while the news from Europe makes rescuing their family ever more urgent. Luckily, they have far more friends than they do enemies, and lessons learned in Poland come back to help them; as news of Kristallnacht comes to Cuba, those friends pitch in to help them meet their goal. Will it be in time?

I loved Esther, who is spunky, open-hearted, and driven by her fierce love for her family. Her story represents an almost forgotten chapter in history; until a year or two ago, I had no idea that many Jews found refuge in Cuba before WWII. If you haven’t read anything by Ruth Behar yet, well–what are you waiting for?

In other news, the weather is delightfully cooler than it has been, my morning responsibilities are complete, and my bed is beckoning seductively. I rather think some more sleep is in order…