#2 - Mimsie In Israel

Before I went to bed last night, I had a new kind of dilemma:
do I sleep in pajamas… or stay fully dressed?

Interesting thing to consider before brushing your teeth.

I chose something in between. Comfortable. Layered. Shoe-ready.

That felt like a reasonable middle ground for wartime.

1:30 a.m. — Sirens. Into the mamad (safe-room).

6:30 a.m. — Sirens again. A widespread barrage.

By breakfast, we had already logged solid time sitting on the floor of the safe room. You must stay lower than the fortified window — which means floor seating. Crisscross applesauce is not as easy as it once was. I might need to add some stretching between mamad visits!

At 10 a.m., Benley had school. Only in Israel would school meet on the second full day of war, on Zoom, of course. Until the sirens went off. We gathered up all the books and paper and relocated to the mamad mid-lesson. Five minutes later his teacher had her own siren. Let’s just say… productivity dipped.

Thankfully we had some good gaps of time where there were no sirens. Jennifer and I were able to cycle through some laundry and even made challah from scratch (something I never do at home). Elly ran to the grocery store — yes, they’re open and fully stocked. Another siren sounded just as he put the milk away and back into the safe room we went.

One mamad note: airtight rooms and small boys are a risky combination. We’ve now added air freshener to our mamad inventory :-)

By afternoon, the boys needed to burn energy. So did the neighborhood. A full soccer game formed in the courtyard between alerts. Life keeps moving — just closer to shelter.

By evening came harder news. A missile struck a residential suburb about 45 minutes from us. Nine killed. Eleven missing. No military target nearby.

War. It’s not pretty.

Today is officially Purim.

Normally tonight would be filled with costumes and celebration. I’m sure many parties were canceled or moved indoors.

Jennifer and I had the boys watch Veggie Tales: Esther – The Girl Who Became Queen. Honestly, we laughed more than they did.

Purim remembers the story of Haman — a Persian official who plotted, with government backing, to annihilate the Jewish people. It was organized. Legal. Empowered by a regime.

And it failed.

I read in All Israel News today that Purim is a warning across history — from Haman to modern threats rising out of Persia, now Iran. Different century. Same spirit.

God’s name is never mentioned in the Book of Esther. Yet His hand is everywhere.

Empires rage. Plans are made. Threats feel real.

But Purim reminds us: what looks overwhelming is not the outcome.

And perhaps even now, more is happening behind the scenes than we can see.

There are moments when it feels scary here. 



We can hear the missile interceptions overhead — the deep thuds in the sky remind you this is real. The sirens absolutely get your attention. Little Yahley puts on his headphones as soon as the first alert comes through so the sound doesn’t frighten him. 



We keep our phones charged.

Our safe-room is ready and stocked.

We are fortunate — our mamad is inside the apartment. Many families run down flights of stairs to reach shared shelters.

Hard to believe this started less than 48 hours ago.

Tonight I’ll make the same wardrobe decision.

Somewhere between pajamas and readiness.

                                                                         — Mimsie In Israel (Alice)