Generations Part 2
Ziva/Tali/Elisheva/Avigail: Fall 2066: 87/52/24/almost 1
"Hi, Savta!" Elisheva hugged her grandmother. "Mom should be here soon."
"Hello, Elie." Ziva turned to baby Avigail sitting in her stroller. "Hello, motek. How is Savta Raba's baby girl today?" Avigail grinned at her great-grandmother and reached her arms towards Ziva. Ziva scooped the little girl into her arms, giving her a hug and a kiss on the forehead. Avigail put her hands over Ziva's eyes and then removed them, "boo!" The little girl laughed and repeated the motions.
"Spoiling my granddaughter again, Ima?" Tali hugged her daughter and then her mother. Avigail reached for her Grandma; Tali took the baby into her arms and snuggled her neck. Avigail laughed and patted Tali's face.
Tali turned to her daughter, "Are we ready to find you a dress?" Elie had asked her mother to help her find a dress to wear to her mother-in-law's fiftieth birthday party. She was hoping that with her mother's help she could find the perfect dress. When Tali had suggested they ask Ziva to go with them, Elie had agreed readily. Savta was not a fan of clothes shopping, but she would be able to watch over and entertain Avigail while Elie and Tali looked for the dress.
At the first store, Tali found a few dresses in the jewel tones Elie preferred. "Are you going to wear your hair up or down?" Elie, like her mother and Savta, had curly hair that tended to the wild side. Elie wore her hair long, like her Savta. Tali preferred to have hers shorter. Baby Avigail had the same dark, curly hair of her mother and great-grandmother.
"Probably down; Harland prefers it down," Elie replied. She took two of the dresses that her mother had picked, plus another that she had found to the dressing room.
Ziva maneuvered Avigail's stroller to a small sitting area near the dressing room as Tali and Elie headed to a changing area. She pulled a few of Avigail's soft books from the bag attached to the stroller and handed one to the baby. Avigail pointed to the animals on the pages. Ziva repeated the name of the animal in English and in Hebrew. Avigail then made the sound of the animal.
"Cat. Khatul." Ziva said to the baby.
"Mau, mau," Avigail grinned at her Savta Raba.
"Dog. Kelev."
"Oof," Avigail's grin got bigger, showing all eight of her teeth.
"Cow. Parah."
"Mooo." Avigail laughed.
"Bird. Tzipor."
"Eee, eee." Avigail laughed again and bounced in her seat.
The baby handed the book back to her Savta Raba and reached for another book. Ziva handed her the book of colors as Elie stepped out to show the first dress to her Mom and Savta. Ziva thought it looked beautiful on her granddaughter; Elie always looked great in emerald green. Tali fussed and had Elie turn around a few times.
"The color is right, but it's too loose under the arms and around the bust." Elie nodded her agreement, and turned to go back to the dressing area. The next dress was a shade lighter than the first one, and Elie didn't like the way the color looked on her. The third and final dress was a navy blue, but even Ziva noticed that it was snug in the hips.
Avigail was getting fussy, so Ziva picked the baby up from the stroller and placed the little girl on her lap. They turned the pages of the colors book. Ziva said each of the colors in English and Hebrew.
"Red. Adom."
"Orange. Katom."
"Yellow. Tzahov."
"Green. Yaroch."
"Blue. Kahol."
"Purple. Sagol."
"Brown. Chum."
"Black. Shahor."
Ziva looked up to see Tali and Elie watching her. Avigail grinned at her mother and grandmother. "We're ready to go, Savta. On to the next store!" Elie took her daughter from Ziva and gave her a hug. 'You're being such a good girl for Savta Raba." Avigail giggled as Elie placed her in the stroller, while Ziva and Tali packed the toys into the bag.
At the next store, Tali and Elie found five dresses to try on; two green, one blue, one garnet red and one deep purple. One of the green dresses went into a definite maybe group, but it would need some minor alterations. The blue shade was not right for Elie, and the deep purple was too dark. When Elie came out of the dressing room in the garnet red dress, both Ziva and Tali gasped. Elie was absolutely stunning in the dress; Tali fussed and checked the fit in critical areas.
"This fits like it was made for you!" Tali couldn't see any problem areas in the fit. "This shade of garnet is perfect for you." Elie turned and viewed herself from all angles.
Ziva was trying to watch Elie, but Avigail had gotten fussy again, the books no longer holding her attention. Ziva bounced the baby in her lap, but she still fussed.
"I will sing you a song, motek." Ziva continued, "My Ima taught me this song when I was very little."
Avigail stopped her fussing as Ziva began singing:
"Zum, gali-gali-gali, Zum gali-gali,
Zum, gali-gali-gali, Zum gali-gali,
Hechalutz lema'an avodah
avodah lema'an hechalutz
Hechalutz lema'an avodah
avodah lema'an hechalutz
Zum, gali-gali-gali, Zum gali-gali,
Zum, gali-gali-gali, Zum gali-gali,
Hechalutz lema'an avodah
avodah lema'an hechalutz
Hashalom lema'an ha'amin
Ha'amin lema'an hashalom
Zum, gali-gali-gali, Zum gali-gali,
Zum, gali-gali-gali, Zum gali-gali, Zum!"
Ziva finished singing the song and looked at Avigail sound asleep in her arms. Tali, Elie, two women who were also trying on dresses, and a sales clerk were standing spellbound. "That was a beautiful song," the clerk commented softly.
Tali wiped a tear from her eyes; she had not heard that song from Ima in many years. Memories of her childhood flooded in, especially of her Ima in Paris when she and Abba had first reunited. Tali had vague memories of Ima singing that same song to her before she met her Abba. "Zikaronot," Tali whispered to her Ima.
"Ken, Tali. Zikaronot tovim," Ziva spoke quietly and smiled at her daughter. Tali took her Ima's hand and gave it a slight squeeze.
"Savta, we found the dress," Elie spoke to her grandmother. "What do you think?" Elie turned around to show her Savta the garnet dress.
"It is beautiful," Ziva grinned at her granddaughter, "I love the color on you!"
Elie turned the sales clerk, "I'll take this one."
"Do you need shoes or accessories today as well?"
"No, thank you, just the dress." Elie planned to wear her black heels and use her black purse with the dress. Tali had offered to let Elie borrow her garnet and black pearl earrings and necklace.
Ziva placed the sleeping little girl in her stroller and packed up her books and toys as Elie paid for the dress. Tali put the other dresses on the rack by the dressing room door to be re-racked.
"What do you want for lunch, Ima? Elie and I are treating," Tali asked her mother. "Thank you for helping with Avigail; we never would have got this dress shopping done without you."
"Anything is fine with me," Ziva had no preferences for lunch. "Let Elie pick a place; she knows best what Avigail will eat."
Elie came over to her mother and Savta as Ziva spoke to Tali. "Avigail loves pasta and chicken. So, let's go someplace where we can get both. How about the new pasta place by the mall?"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Tali agreed and Ziva nodded. The four headed back to the car and then to the restaurant. Once seated, they each ordered and Eli took Avigail's plastic plate out of the diaper bag. She poured some juice into Avigail's sippy cup and handed the cup to the little girl. Ziva tied a bib around Avigail's neck and kissed her softly on the head.
When the food arrived, the baby waited eagerly while her mother cut up some chicken and pasta and put it on the plastic plate to cool off before handing it to Avigail. Ziva let the little girl try some of her grilled vegetables, breaking the zucchini, carrots, and summer squash into tiny pieces. Avigail ate all that Ziva offered of the squashes, but made a face at the carrot pieces. Ziva laughed, and tried to get the little girl to try another piece of carrot by eating some herself, "Mmm, carrots are good." Avigail refused to open her mouth for the carrot piece, reaching towards her plate of pasta and chicken.
Elie put the plate where Avigail could reach the food and the baby picked up pieces of chicken and pasta and put them in her mouth. "Mmmm," she imitated her Savta Raba. All of the adults laughed and Avigail grinned at them.
After the meal, the four went to the mall and took Avigail to the enclosed toddler play area. Tali and Elie helped her with the climbing toys and the small slide. Ziva place Avigail in a swing and pushed her gently. A grandfather who was watching two rambunctious three year olds play offered to take a picture of the four generations. When Tali showed Ziva the picture, Ziva's first thought was that every one of the younger generations had Tony's goofy grin. Other than the grin, she felt as though she were looking at multiple ages of herself in the same picture. "Please send me a copy of the picture," Ziva asked Tali.
"Will do, Ima."
After about an hour, Avigail started getting fussy and rubbing her eyes. Ziva picked up the baby and started singing her a well-known Hebrew lullaby:
"Numi, numi yaldati,
Numi, numi, nim.
Numi, numi chemdati,
Numi, numi, nim.
Aba halach la'avoda -
Halach, halach Aba.
Yashuv im tzeit halevana -
Yavi lach matana!
Numi, numi yaldati,
Numi, numi, nim.
Numi, numi chemdati,
Numi, numi, nim.
Numi, numi yaldati,
Numi, numi, nim.
Numi, numi chemdati,
Numi, numi, nim.
Aba halach la'avoda -
Halach, halach Aba.
Yashuv im tzeit halevana -
Yavi lach matana!
Numi, numi yaldati,
Numi, numi, nim.
Numi, numi chemdati,
Numi, numi, nim."
Tali grinned at her Ima; she remembered this lullaby so well. Ima had sung it to her and all of her siblings over the years. When the grandchildren came along, Savta had sung it to each one. All of the great-grandchildren had been sung the lullaby as well by Savta Raba.
Elie smiled at the memories of Savta singing to her and her twin, Noah, many times. "Thank you Savta, I am so glad you are my Savta. I love you," Elie whispered to her grandmother.
"Love you more, yaldati!" Ziva smiled at her granddaughter and placed a kiss on the baby's head. Just seeing the joy in her granddaughter's eyes, and the smile on her daughter's face, as well as the content expression on her sleeping great-granddaughter's face was enough…
** Some translations and notes**
Zikaronot – memories
Zikaronot tovim – good memories
Yaldati – little girl
Zum gali-gali is also known as the pioneer song; if you Google the title, there are several versions of song being performed that you can listen to
Numi, Numi is a very well-known lullaby; again, Google the title to hear it sung. The basic story is a mother singing a lullaby to her daughter and telling her about what her father will bring her from the fields, from the grape arbor and from the orchard where he works during the day.