Just wanted to let you know- WE ARE OK!  As we speak, Israel is being targeted by a series of bombs from Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).  Just as we were headed out the door for school, I picked up my phone and noticed a bunch of WhatsApp messages were popping up every few seconds.  They were from families at the girls’ school questioning if school was closed.  As Jim was about to walk out the door, I told him to “hold on, something is happening.”  I read through the messages and they kept referring to “the situation”.  What situation?

I tried to call another mother, but couldn’t reach her.  Just as I hung up, a good friend, Jennifer, messaged me to say her sons school – and all schools – were closed for the day because of bombs targeting Israel!  Jim also jumped on the phone to see what he could find out.  Israel had targeted and killed the PIJ leader in an early morning bombing.  The group was retaliating, sending bombs into Israel.  The situation was new and scary!  Summer had also learned by now from her friends that there would be no school today.  She did not seem alarmed, but we told her everything would be fine.

Jennifer messaged again to say her son would be stopping by on his way home from the bus stop.  His bus driver was told to turn around to drop the kids off.  Our house was on the way to his home and he knew my daughter Summer would be home too.

A short time later we heard sirens from a distance.  I wasn’t sure what to do!  That’s when Jennifer sent another message that she would be by shortly.  As soon as I read her message, our sitter, Batchen, called to see if we were ok.  I told her I was confused and scared, but Jim was reassuring me we would be fine.  Jim told me the Israeli Missile Defense System, known as the Iron Dome, is trained for situations just like this.  They are experts at intercepting the missiles and told me a missile has never hit Tel Aviv. Jennifer showed up and told me she had just left the gym and saw the smoke from one of the missiles being intercepted in the air.

Jennifer told me she had just left the gym and the beach was packed with people, the restaurants were full and people were on the streets going about their day.  She also told me to download an app that showed exactly where the misses were being intercepted. The alerts were going off constantly and the map was lit up with red everywhere.  Most of the locations were south of Tel Aviv and all the interceptions were in the air.

I called Josh at school to see if he was ok and he told me he was in class.  He had heard about the missiles, but also did not seem alarmed.  Class was on as usual there.

Jennifer and Jim insisted I go out to see for myself that life was ok outside our apartment to calm my nerves.  So, Jennifer and I went to walk down the street to a nearby breakfast cafe.  The streets were busy with people and the first cafe we went to was FULL and we had a wait. 

We kept walking to another cafe a few blocks away and it was a pleasant surprise that the streets DID seem normal. Of course, we noticed more children carrying backpacks with their parents dressed in work clothes everywhere since school was closed at the last minute. Everyone had a calmness about them.

Jennifer and I had a nice breakfast and it did calm my nerves.  Batchen called shortly after we finished just to tell us the news was saying the funeral for the PIJ leader would be at noon, so they were expecting more bombs to be launched at that time.  So, we headed home.

The rest of the day was uneventful as we watched the news closely and we had the Weissmans over for a barbecue dinner outside. I tried to get more news about what was going on. We had on israel news stations on the tv, but couldn’t understand what they were saying in Hebrew. We relied on the video and their tone to interpret.

I also searched the web for any news I could find. The US news websites were slow to post information about the missiles.  I even listened to a talk radio station in English to learn  more about what was happening.  We went to bed thinking schools would be closed today. They were NOT.

Wednesday is business as usual! The news from the government saying it was ok for schools to open didn’t come until after midnight and early this morning.  We were late getting the girls to school because we assumed they would be closed again.  When we arrived an hour late to school, Jim and I were surprised we were alone in being late.  The school was already full of kids and conducting school as usual.  This is apparently what life is like for Israelis living under a constant threat. Of course, all new for me and WHAT A DAY!