Swirling Thoughts – the one after #54

Our final judgments are sealed on Hoshanah Rabbah
Apparently, fish are also judged. Bob’s fish pond saw its first casualty Friday morning. We’re trying to discern if it’s possible he made the fish pond too clean (read: no algae or bacteria for the fish to feed on) with his new filter. We’ll see what the week brings.

Simhat Torah – the day Hashem gave the Jewish people candy, right?
It was a very festive holiday. Asher read from the Torah, there was hakafot (singing and dancing with the Torahs), food (a shul luncheon for maybe 150 people), and most of all, candy. Every time I told Becky ‘no more candy’ she would insist that this was her last piece. Maybe her last piece until the next piece! We adopted the philosophy of ‘they’ll eat it until it’s gone and then they won’t be able to eat it anymore’ (also known as the ‘path of least resistance’). We’ll measure the success of this strategy by how the night goes.

Hadassa Ein Kerem or Bust
I must look so huge and pathetic – there were a lot of queries as to when I’m due and some shocked reactions when I said I had another month to go. To most people who offered assistance I mentioned that I don’t know how to get to the hospital – if anyone could draw me a map or be relied on to drive me there should Bob be out of the country… Bob likes to joke that in a pinch I could deliver at Bethlehem General Hospital. Assuming I can make it until Monday, Bob and I have a test run planned. We even plan to register!

Noisy Neighbors
Today the donkey was so loud and so close I thought he was being broadcast over the ‘call to prayer’ loudspeaker. Seriously. The kids and I were sitting in the dining room and it sounded like he was in our sukkah. (The only wildlife in the sukkah turned out to be lizards which, by the way, were out in spades today).

Isru Chag
A very nice concept - a way to extend the sanctity of the holiday. The concept was lost on me in Brooklyn. The reality there was more like I am exhausted, Bob is back at work, why are my kids still home? Isn't this day covered in our tuition bill? Isru WHAT?

Here I couldn’t be happier. I am so not exhausted (one day yom tov!) and I can’t wait to have a day with my kids that’s not yom tov and did I mention it’s still warm enough to go to the beach? I guess the fact that my kids are in school six days a week adds to the excitement of having a truly free day. That and knowing it’s the last truly free day until Chanukah.