Twenty One

My eldest son turned 21! Birthdays in our home always come with a handmade card made by mum and it doesn't seem that long ago that the pinky purple Bleeper People, from his favourite pop-up book as a small child Where, Oh Where, is Kipper's Bear?, appeared on his birthday card. Now he's in his third year of service in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and the themes I picked for his special card were slightly different!

This year I have shown my eldest son in his olive green army uniform, holding a certificate he recently received for a course he just completed. When he is home from the army he likes to go on tiyulim (hikes) with his friends. They recently went to Ein Prat, the biggest of three springs along the Prat Stream (Wadi Qelt), a stream that flows along the northern Judean desert, from Jerusalem to Jericho and then to the Jordan River. I have shown the spring in the background and added his pakal kafe (coffee kit), which he often takes with him. The word "pakal" is actually an acronym of the words "pkudat keva lechayal," which means "a fixed command for soldiers," that is - everything the soldier must have with him at all times. But as in many other cases, army acronyms and army slang receive other meanings outside of military life and one such example is "pakal kafe" - everything you might need in order to make coffee (or tea) outside.

Next to my son's coffee kit is an ear of wheat inside a red warning sign. The red circle with a red line through it always means NO. The picture inside the circle shows what you cannot do. My son has been trying a gluten free diet (it seems that army food does not agree with him!), so this red warning sign represents his new diet. A big yellow number 21 marks his age. Finally, I had to include the Arsenal crest on his card too. He has been a keen supporter since he was very young and funnily enough nearly always manages to Whatsapp or call home when they have played!

For the first time in several years my eldest was home for his birthday. It fell on a weekend so we were able to take him out for a nice meal and he was able to celebrate with friends. Of course there were balloons and TWO cakes! One to share with his friends and one with his family. They were both gluten free but tasted pretty good anyway!

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun., Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Pictorial Tuesday, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop and Wandering Camera.