Musings from a Jerusalem Mom

By Ayala Gordesky 
Ayala Gordesky resides in Israel with her husband, gorgeous daughter and not so gorgeous Boston Terrier. Nestled in the beautiful hills of Jerusalem she is enjoying her solo career as a social media marketer. She is grateful to have attracted small businesses, start-ups and even an international singer. Ayala may be reached at ayala.gordesky@gmail.com.

MUSINGS FROM A JERUSALEM MOM

Jerusalem is a pulsing entity of radiance, freedom, strength and defiance. At the Kotel wall on the women's side there is a sea of color; bright head scarves, patterned skirts and exotic jewelry. The colors are outlined with desert tan as they meander through the tunnels and shops and spill out into the streets. In some areas they gain momentum and in some they are muted and withheld. Up where I live, near Baka and the German Colony the colors shine brightly in the sunshine of the tree-lined streets. During the rare hours of leisure we laugh or argue on our mirpesets barefoot and cross-legged while drinking ice water. The tan of the Jerusalem stone which lingers at our heels and follows our eyes as we raise them to the hills contrasts neatly with the vibrancy of our garb. Our Naot clad feet purposefully jostle strollers through the winding, rain gullied sidewalks and no one seems to really notice as our feet get blacker and blacker from the mixture of sun-tan and Jerusalem dust. We shove one another roughly as we get on the the bright green buses in the heat of shopping at the shuk and with the next breath we volunteer to hold each others freckled, messy haired children so City Minis and groceries can be loaded onto the bus with ease. I see street corners that are hot spots for older Israeli gentlemen in dingy jeans and tee-shirts and loud kipot to drink Turkish coffee and vehemently argue about the state of the country. My friends faces shine, makeup clad or not, I think they are all beautiful as we watch our kids dance in a fountain or feed them lunch together from our white walled and speckle tiled apartments. My face is naked of makeup and I wear my constant tan with pride since it is the branding of our our glorious city that burns the skin on my face.