At the beginning of the year, Jackie was working hard to recovery from her Nov ’05 car accident. Considering the magnitude of her injuries, she recovered so well and so fast that, when Marc told well-wishers that she was in good shape, no one believed him. But she really was doing well, and now she is 100%.
We celebrated Benjamin’s birthday, in March, with a pizza and movie party. Then in May we had the big event – Jonathan’s Bar Mitzvah. Surprising no one, Jonathan did a fantastic job. Surprising everyone, Benjamin honored his brother with a beautiful piano solo during the service. We all enjoyed entertaining our friends and family from all over the country. We look forward to Benjamin’s Bar Mitzvah on March 6, 2010. In June, we celebrated our nephew Michael’s Bar Mitzvah. He, too, did a great job.
A week later, we were on a 2 week tour in Israel with Jackie’s parents, her brother’s family, and her parents’ temple. We also visited friends and relatives who live there. We had a great time and were back home safe and sound before all the unpleasantness with Lebanon started. (http://www.jmzconsulting.com/zev/news/Vacation2006)
We hung around like bums until the end of the summer, and then we went camping with Jackie’s brother’s family and some friends from our temple. Over Labor Day weekend, Jackie went to Detroit to celebrate her cousin’s wedding – another good time. Then a couple of weeks later, Marc and Jackie were in Chicago for another cousin’s Bat Mitzvah. Marc took advantage of the trip to finalize his deal with The Wright Group/McGraw-Hill (who are in Chicago.) They bought the rights to Marc’s invention Math Flaps (http://www.mathflaps.com). We look forward to future royalties.
School, as always, goes well for the boys. Jackie and Marc are in the process of picking a High School for Jonathan for next year. The boys played Fall soccer as usual. Jonathan’s team spent the entire season in last place, but during the playoffs they won every game and will be representing our region in the area tournament. Benjamin’s team also had its difficulties during the regular season; however, ultimately, they made it to the semi-finals in the playoffs. After only 2 wins in the regular season, ending up as one of the top four teams out of 16 is a good achievement. We are proud of both boys.
At work, Jackie is transitioning from the project she has managed for the past 7 years to a new program. Marc is working diligently on finishing the book he is co-writing called 101 Things Everyone Should Know About Math. He has a contract with the publisher Science, Naturally! and it will be available for purchase in May ’07. (http://www.sciencenaturally.com/books_math.shtml)
As the year closes, we have wonderful memories of the celebrations we shared with family and friends this year and hope to share many more with you in the coming years.
Marc, Jackie, Jonathan & Benjamin