The grand finale, the opening scene and a happy new year...

What seemed like a wild notion just a few months ago is now a reality, as I sit here in the outskirts of Philadelphia thinking about how to begin this post, wondering how the heck I got here.

Sometimes opportunities arise that are just too good to pass up, which is the case for the new job I'll be starting next week. So good, in fact, that we moved the whole family from Israel to the US last week, and are now anxiously waiting to dig in to our new life. All those sleepless nights I spent on facebook, twitter and other areas, trying to understand it all, trying to keep up and ask and answer, have led to a professional role that I can't wait to begin, and that I will surely have more to tell about soon.

But as with any new adventure, the journey to get there is no less important than the destination. And in our case, it was more like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride... we rented our house, packed up our things, finalized school and work and parted with friends and family - all in a relatively short span. It was hard saying goodbye to family, painful even. We have some really amazing friends in Israel, and although leaving the country is a lousy excuse for a get-together, it made us realize just how much we will miss them all. It was so hard to leave, in fact, that after "just a few more minutes" of coffee and cake with our neighbors we almost missed our flight!

Being that I already made the decision once to leave everything and move to Israel from the US about 20 years ago, the decision to move back was not an easy one. I love living in Israel. It's not the most logical or easy place to live, but there is something special about knowing that everyone is in the same boat, and will pull together when necessary. I've enjoyed raising my kids there, working in one of the best companies there, and absorbing the history and the beauty that is everywhere in Israel. And I'm sure we'll be back.

But now, we are moving as a family to a new and exciting life in exactly the right timing. I just turned 40 and if I am going to make a drastic change then now is the time. My husband has been patiently waiting for this change for years. And I believe that the kids will benefit most from living here - not only because of the English, but because it will open their eyes and their minds to new experiences, to new people and places and ways of doing things. I'm already thrilled at how much more we've heard them say "thank you" and "excuse me" in the week since we arrived! And I am hopeful that we'll have more of a chance to visit with family in California now that we're so much closer (relative to Israel, that is).

So here we are, and apparently we brought the blizzard with us on the day we landed for a beautiful white welcome (I was so worried about the snow but am totally loving it so far!).

I do resolve to update this blog much more often in 2011 - about everyday things, family things, cross-Atlantic perspectives and hopefully some professional insights tossed in here and there.

Looks like it's gonna be a very good year...