What Are the Kids?

This week's topic is to talk about a book or movie ( if you have more than one, that's OK too) which you feel has changed your life, either for the better (or for the worse).

 

I will be honest, this week is late, not because my life overwhelmed me, but because I seriously could not figure out what to say.  I have been killing myself trying to think about it.  Sure there are books, movies and music that I like, that were important to me a various points in my life.  But I really could not think of any book that has changed my life.

 

Books have always been important to me.  They have always been the source of information.  If you wanted to know how to do something you could find the answer in a book and teach yourself how to do it.  Or at least learn enough to ask intelligent questions.  But, there isn't or at least I couldn't think of one particular book that was influential.  The mass of books as a group, sure they have been influential.  I learned to knit from a book, I learned to fix electrical sockets from a book, I know how to cook because of books, etc.  I think I am a researcher by nature.  This is only exacerbated by the internet.  Now all the answers may or may not be at my finger tips!

 

Then, this morning as I was about to sit down at my desk and type up my post with a bunch of "hey folks, I got nothin'," it hit me, like a ton of books.

 

 

If I am Jewish and You're Christian, What Are the Kids?, by Andrea King is about making a decision about what faith to raise your children in.  While Andrea does not say which religion you have to choose, she says that by not choosing you are essentially creating a life of non-religion for your children.  She offers a great example: 

Despite their parents' adamant claims to the contrary, children raised with both religions are often confused. They absorb very little about religion, tradition, heritage or theology from the four-holiday calendar. One child, Jamie, age six, explained his interfaith family's celebrations this way: "Hanukkah is the Jewish Christmas, Easter is the Easter Bunny's birthday and Passover, I don't know what that is." -- Andrea King
 

I wanted to raise my kids as both.  But the paragraph above summarizes nicely why I eventually decided that this was not a good idea.  There was time spent with the Rabbi, talks with my husband and other sources consulted, but this book in particular hit a chord with me.  It helped me see that I would not loose myself in making the choice to raise the kids as Jews.  That I would not be left out.

While many people played a role in helping me make this decision, this book, which I do not even own a copy of, is what eventually tipped the scales in favor of me being able commit my life, my heart and my children to this project.  I have not converted, nor will I.  That is a topic for another day.


If you are curious and want to read more about this topic, check out Andrea King's article on Interfaithfamily.com:  What should the kids be?  But, before you do that, look at what the other ladies have to say on the topic:  Froggie, Momarock, and Merrylandgirl