Jet Lag

Four hours - the drive from Boston to Newark
Eleven hours - the flight from Newark to Tel Aviv, with Raphaela on my lap the entire time
24 hours - the amount of time that I wore the clothing in which I traveled, before I could find the opportunity to take them off and shower
15 hours - the amount of sleep that Raphaela got the first night we were home
6 hours - the amount of sleep that I got the first night we were home, after keeping myself awake all day to unpack and try to establish some order in the house, before patients arrived the next day
20 - the number of times per day that Harry asks to go inside and outside, just to check that I have not left him and that I will answer his every whim

Raphaela grew an amazing amount this trip, not merely in physical size but also in maturity. She has started crawling backwards, and can lift her back up into a front crawl position. She started eating solids, and now enjoys rice cereal, carrots, green beans, avocado and pears. She has become much more purposely verbal, I only wish I understood everything she was saying when she speaks. She shows huge leaps in her fine motor control and pincer grasp.

For all Raphaela grew, that's how much my bank account shrunk. Between not working for three weeks and having to buy a whole extra plane ticket in order to return to Israel and avoid the volcanic ash, I have deep concerns.

I try to maintain the Israeli attitude that it will all work out.
As long as sleep is one of the options that work out, I will be happy.