Pamela Becker's Blog

Cancer doesn’t care what side you’re on for judicial reform

I recently spent the day at Park Utopia with families from around the country — religious and secular Jews, Muslims, Druze, disabled, able-bodied, and more.  We wondered at the butterflies and pet the bunnies. We did not touch the carnivorous plants as instructed, and we...

If a picture’s worth a thousand words…

As part of a website redesign project, I just uploaded photo albums for nearly all of Jeremy’s Circle’s events over the past 15 years.  I worked my way through the photos starting from our earliest days at Jeremy’s Circle, the organization I co-founded to support...

Zoe’s Story

“I didn’t mean to influence or inspire anyone. It just happened.” My daughter Zoe was only 6 years old when her father’s terminal illness was discovered. She didn’t think there was anyone in the world who could understand what she was going through. Her actions...

Things to do with kids when there’s nothing to do

Summer vacation is looming ahead of us… At Jeremy’s Circle, we’ve been throwing family fun days and teen events for kids coping with cancer or cancer loss in their young families since 2008. Here is our proven list of favorite family activities.  Bouncing around Outdoor...

Exercising our Coping Muscles

When it comes to coping skills, like nearly everything else, practice makes perfect. When my daughter was still in grade school, I had no way to get her to a music lesson so I arranged a taxi. She told her best friend she was anxious...

How can we best help struggling teens?

As many parents know – what works for one teen doesn’t necessarily work for another. We sent our five kids to three different high schools for just that reason.  Still, it amazes me how much my kids differ from each other – what they enjoy,...

The unbearable lightness of summer vacation

The odds are high that some families you know are struggling. You can help by giving the parents a breather and occupying their kids for a day - or an hour!

The Unbearable Lightness of Summer Vacation

The last day of school is generally gleeful for most kids looking forward to the freedom and choices that summer vacation offers.  But not every kid is “most kids.” Beyond the structure and supervision that school provides, it also offers hours of respite for children...

When milestones are complicated

I am dropping off my son for his first day in the army today. It is a huge milestone for Israeli teenagers. Another milestone that his dad, who died a few days after he turned 5, will miss. So much time has passed…over 13 years....

Support Without Question

We live in a society that loves to talk. And in most cases talking about our struggles makes us feel better.  So when we see someone we care about in need of help, our instinct is often to ask them to talk about whatever is...