This post may seem like a litany of complaints but the fact is that I am very grateful that everyone who you mentioned have been very fortunate in comparison to the Oct 7 victims, their families, and thousand of people in Gaza and Lebanon. As for myself, the worst parts of the last year have been spending most of it away from my home. Much of that time I was in hospitals. It started with a liver infection which spread to my lungs. Even after getting out, I was taking so much medication that I had severe brain fog. I kept forgetting which room I was in and the names of people I have known for 30 years (I recognized the faces but could not their names).

By now, my only physical problems are bending down and getting out of chairs.

My daughter's family lives in the Haifa area, the IDF has warned against taking long drives, so I don't see them very often.

As far as my Russian friends are concerned, the husband did not leave Israel as he was worried about being drafted into the Russian Army and being sent to Ukraine. His wife and two daughters went to Russia without him, but will be returning in about 2 weeks, They live in Siberia and just gotten a reminder of how cold that can be.