On Our Own/Cheryl Kupfer

It's erev Pesach, the house is sparkling, the chicken soup is cooking, the potatoes have been peeled (20 pounds worth) and the guests are on their way.

'Twas the morning after Purim and in a ba'al batishe house, A bleary-eyed husband tried not to wake up his spouse,

Smart husbands know that their wives as a rule are full of common sense and wisdom and if they want to be successful in life, they should listen to what their wife has to say - and follow it.

The other day I was shopping at a large supermarket and happened to go down the frozen foods aisle, past the endless freezers containing every imaginable flavor, shape and size of ice cream.

As a longtime "born-again single" and parent, I've come to the conclusion that the road to matrimony is like the road to weight loss.

The menorahs have been put away; the scale groans with the added weight of the sufganiyot and latkes that were devoured; and people are starting to formulate their Pesach plans (so soon already!).

This past week I took time out from my daily activities to have a medical checkup - something I highly recommend.

This past week, millions of Americans took advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday to pick themselves up and, alone or with family, get into a car, bus, train or airplane to visit relatives or friends or have a mini-vacation.

It was one of those cold, rain-soaked evenings - the kind that make you look forward to a hot drink, a good book and a soft couch to curl up on.

The question that is on many people's mind these days is why the organizers of the international "Pride Parade" chose the holy city of Jerusalem as the venue for their exhibition.

This summer there was a big hue and cry over the anti-Jewish rants uttered by a very drunk Mel Gibson after he was stopped by police for driving like a ...drunk - out of control, with an inability to think and judge clearly.

The Days of Awe are quickly approaching, a time that we focus on what the future will hold for our families and us.

I recently received an e-mail from a woman who, based on her skillful command of English, is surely a North American living in Israel.

In memory of the chayalim of the IDF whose lives were prematurely snuffed out when they still had so much living to do.

This past Sunday in Iraq a suicide bomber blew himself in the midst of mourners at a funeral, killing at least 10 people and injuring at least 18.

Some may say that certain unlikely events and their timing are a matter coincidence, but we who believe that Hashem is the Eternal Mastermind of the Universe - know better.

In my previous column I wrote how apprehension has replaced anticipation when a son or daughter enters the shidduch parsha.

When I was a camper way back in the previous century, there was a game we would play called "Capture the Flag".

If you do not like the system, then do not perpetuate it!

I am still getting calls and e-mails from mothers and grandmothers with girls for "Avi" (a non-New Yorker), the ben Torah "earner" who was having trouble finding girls in his community willing to go out with him because he was not learning full time.

In my previous column I wrote about an ehrlich young man (who does not live in New York) who was a college educated earner with an excellent income (his wife won't have to work if she so chooses) who learned in his spare time but was having a hard time getting an in-town shidduch because most of the girls wanted full-time learners.

A few days ago, while out of town, I connected with an old friend.

As we recite the Haggadah during the seder, we are introduced to the "Four Sons."

My little boy messed up the wall, But what he did didn't make me mad at all,

"Another day another dinar," sighed Esther as she prepared her daily infusion of Turkish coffee before leaving for her job as an assistant editor at her Uncle Mordy's business, Megillah Publishing.

February/Adar is birthday month in the Kupfer family, with four out of five members born during this period.

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." Marcellus, the character in Hamlet who uttered those words, couldn't have been more right.

This column is being written on my secular birthday, February 14 (my real birthday is 11 Adar), a birthday - not surprisingly - that I share with my twin brother.

In my previous column I wrote about the importance of assigning minimal value to the utterances of those who make nasty, ego-wounding comments.

Chanukah is over and we are now dealing with the repercussions of wantonly indulging in crispy, crunchy, melt in your mouth potato latkes and overdosing on sugary, chocolaty, jelly-oozing donuts.