If only we could all have such a sense of humor (from a blog written by a mother in Israel):

I checked the news and my part of the country has the same vague instruction as yesterday -- stay alert.

Being a good soldier, I followed orders and immediately made myself a strong cappucino. How's that for sacrifice in time of war?

-snip-

Try cleaning out the bomb shelter, the room you like to pretend doesn't exist, the storeroom for all of the crap that you don't know what to do with and you just toss inside.

I peeked in mine today, realized there was no light -- not a good thing -- and stuck a lamp in there. No need to replenish the water supply -- there was still plenty of mineral water in there -- left over from 2003 (anyone remember Saddam Hussein? Scuds? Anyone? Bueller?)

She also has an interesting point about crises and our reactions to them:

Despite it all, though, I don't see any point in leaving, even though I've got plenty of friends and family who would be happy to host us. Being overseas when something traumatic is happening in a place you care about is harder than being there. I was in the U.S. in 2000 when Intifada 2 started with its series of terrible bombings. And I had just returned to Israel in 2001 when September 11 happened.

When you are away, you are much more a prisoner of the media, and it's hard to deal with the world around you going on with business as usual, when your head is spinning with the events happening far away. In a way it's easier to be in the "trouble spot" where everyone is feeling similar feelings and are in the same boat.