Year of the Poodle: Mildred, my Jewish mother-in-law
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Mildred
Wisdom comes from many places.
A certain kind of wisdom born of a sense of the sublime and the ridiculous came from Mildred, my quintessential Jewish mother-in-law. She was a change agent from an earlier time. A nonprofit nana who believed in making the world a better place, one pot roast at a time. “Do good and eat, kindeleh (Yiddish for child)! Oy! God forbid you get sick. So, don’t be such a big shot. Wear a sweater.”
While I come from a family marinated in Confucianism and other kinds of Chinese ways at looking at life, marrying Seth and catapulting myself into a casually Jewish family made my life wonderfully and forever meshuganah (Yiddish for crazy), filled with moments that make me scramble for my sketchbook.
Like this zinger.
And that, dear readers, is how I became a nonprofit knitter in the Year of the Poodle, my life in pictures.
I miss Mildred everyday. If you have a Jewish mother-in-law story, I would love to hear it!
I write for love and money. It is my everyday passion. What's yours? 
Yes, Yes, Yes . . . I can hear Mildred’s voice now!
Betty was not your typical Jewish mother-in-law. I don’t really have any stories to tell about her.
However, Joel’s aunt was another story! She was epitome of Jewishness. She never wanted to be a bother. However, she would come down on an annual basis with her adult mentally challenged daughter, Joel’s cousin so that they could first go to Disneyworld and then to see her brother, Harry, in Naples.
We only had one child at the time so our den (now Rachel’s room) served as their bedroom. There was a pullout couch in there and once it was pulled out, you couldn’t walk around because the room is quite small.
Once Rachel was sleeping, it was time to sleep. Rachel was only around 2 at the time. We left Aunt Lil and Cousin Myrna in the den and went to sleep around 11 p.m.
The next day I asked Lil if she slept well. Her response was, “Well, I suppose.” So when I asked what was wrong she said that she isn’t used to going to bed so early so she decided to read. I said, “oh that’s great, but I didn’t hear you go downstairs to the living room.”
Her response was so typical that it was hysterical . . . she said, “Oh, well I shouldn’t want to bother anyone, so I read in the closet so Myrna could sleep.”
I just looked blankly at her because I really thought that she was kidding, but I kid you not . . . she really did go into the closet and read until about 3 a.m.
Picture a 75 year old woman who is no taller than 4’11″ with a shrill voice that could erase chalk off a board crouched on the floor of a closet that is 3 feet wide by 3 feet wide, filled with stuff!!
I don’t know about you . . . but I was so tickled by this image that I still laugh about it 16 years later!!!!!
hi jody
aunt lil, mildred and all jewish mothers-in-law in spirit are really something! thanks so much for sharing that very vivid image of aunt lil reading in the closet. that is a real Year of the Poodle story!
This was a nice read going into school at
, I’ve a Jewish godmother who comes
6am. It made me smile. While I’m only 18 and don’t yet have a Jewish mother
in law
close enough…especially with all the Yiddish!
you may find yourself with a jewish godmother and a jewish mother in law someday! you never know. i certainly didn’t but i consider myself lucky that i had mildred in my life. sei gesund!