u/MyristicaFragrans

My daughter will be 13 next month. She is verbal, AuDHD.

Lately, she has been arguing about everything, or loudly asking why. i.e. "What's Daddy getting from McDonald's?" Him "chicken nuggets." Her: "WHY?"(Angrily shouting) Daddy: "I wanted them. " Her: "WHY". If we disengage, she keeps asking why, even if we say "asked and answered" or repeat ourselves, she will just keep asking why.

Anything I ask her to do, in a million different ways, it's "NO!!" Even something she wants to do. Or she says "I DON'T KNOW!"

TBH, it's driving me batty..lol. I 'm at a loss of how to respond. We can't pinpoint why she's doing it at all. It happens regardless of the day, routine, her mood, etc.

Any tips welcome!

Hi everyone,

I posted recently that I was going to explore conversion in Reform Judaism. At the Temple I will attend, they do require a beit din and a mikveh/ circumcision (as the case may be) for conversion (I know not all of them do.).

The mikveh both intrigues and freaks me out. You see, I don't swim, and don't like having my head under water. I'm really nervous about the dunking, even though I would be dunking myself (more comforting than someone else dunking me.)

I also feel really uncomfortable being naked around anyone else but my husband or a doctor. Do they have to check you over before you go in? I know they only watch to see if you're under after that.

Anyone else with any similar experiences or concerns? How to make it easier?

This is putting the proverbial cart WAAAAAAY before the horse, I'm only just thinking about conversion, so I know it will be awhile. I'd welcome any and all mikveh tips you're comfortable sharing.

ETA: My husband is not religious, we don't go to church. My daughter was baptized Catholic as a baby, but not raised in it., she doesn't remember the few times we went to church when she was a toddler. His family is Christian, but very loosely and never attend church, they were supportive before. I only have my sister and she's very supportive, although we're not really close so she wouldn't be a factor.

ETA: I emailed the Rabbi I knew before to inquire. Thanks for all your support, it was one of the boosts that I needed!

Hi everyone!

To provide a little bit of background..I've been fascinated by Judaism and have had a special love for the Jewish people for as long as I can remember. I was raised a very liberal Roman Catholic. Whenever I heard Hebrew prayers, or music, I would immediately choke up and it would sound familiar somehow..and I normally am stoic by nature, I don't respond like that typically. Later on in life, I had Jewish friends and a Jewish boyfriend. Whenever my being a gentile was mentioned, the first thought that would pop in my head was "I'm not, though, I'm Jewish!". It was very strange.

I left Catholicism for a variety of reasons in my late teens, and explored many other paths.

About 6 years ago, I started studying Judaism at a Reform synagogue. I loved the environment and the people, it was very moving, but I just felt it wasn't the right time. I'd lost my mother at the same time, and I think I was still in a grieving process.

I'm considering returning to explore conversion, but don't want to seem fickle. I am married, and have a daughter who is almost 13. My husband 100% supports me if I choose to convert (he always did). My daughter, who is AuDHD, was fascinated with Judaism and enjoyed it when we went..but she is not sure how she feels now. (she was only 6 back then.) I understand that she doesn't have to convert, as she is of age.

I guess I'm wondering how this could work, if I were the only convert? I know Reform supports intermarriage, but wouldn't being the only Jew in my family awkward?

Anyone else in this situation/know of a situation like this and have advice?

Thanks!

Hi everyone

I'm returning to practice after a very long hiatus, during which I was a stay at home parent.

I've had 3 interviews so far. The first two, I unfortunately didn't get the position.

The third was last week, and INCREDIBLY formal, by far the most formal in my career; it's for the local government. The panel gave me a list of the questions, they basically wrote the whole time and said they were continually evaluating my verbal/communication skills.

They were very poker faced, so I'm not sure how I did. I noticed they were writing a lot. They asked one or two follow ups at the end. I was asked about my availability, told they'd tell me before they called references if i was the top applicant, and talked about hours of work.

Anyone have any ideas as to how to read into the interview a little more? I know it's impossible to say, but just a few clues would be great if you've had a similar experience. I had to go through a pretty intense screening just to get an interview.

They said it could take a while to hear back, but didn't really say how long (i guess they don't know). Any thoughts/feedback would be great.