Adaptation

This is Namir. He is six.

Yesterday Shailee, Namir and I went to Jerusalem for the evening to the Khutzot Hayotzer, or the Arts and Crafts festival with our friends Tzofit, Gur, and Ronel.

I have been looking around carefully to see if everyone will act differently now that the war is 'over.'

When the war began, the difference was obvious. I walked into the supermarket to do my Shabbat shopping to find the normally festive atmosphere replaced by a palpable tension.

When the rockets reached Haifa the following Sunday, most people stayed home from work. I walked through town, the streets were deserted, and I could hear the news coming from every home. Later in the day, friends called each other to decide whether it was safe to go to the pool. Most of us went.

Monday morning, back to normal. I felt safe. Adaptation is amazing. And Israelis seem almost religious about not allowing the enemy the victory of disrupting their lives. So we went about our business, just now carrying a large block of anxiety on our shoulders.

So now? I haven't noticed anyone unloading their blocks yet. Now we worry about the blame, cost, outcome, durability, etc.