Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a wonderful time to reflect on the past year and think about any changes you want to make in the year ahead. It can be a lovely time to connect with your family and community. And it’s also a time when being a parent can be especially exhausting (the emphasis on honey — notoriously sticky — doesn’t help).
Whether you’ll be spending the holiday in synagogue, apple-picking or trying to stop your kids from wiping their — once again, notoriously sticky — honey hands on the furniture, we hope that you can find time to set some intentions for the new year. If you need a little help, we asked Kveller readers to contribute to a Jewish New Year’s prayer for parents. If (when) everything feels overwhelming, remember these words from our incredible Kveller community:
A Parents’ Prayer for 5784
May nobody tell you to sleep when the baby sleeps.
May your kids get along better than Jacob and Esau.
For every parenting book you read may you also read a dysfunctional family memoir and know you just have to land somewhere in between the two.
(May you find the time to read anything at all.)
May your new year bring Jewish joy.
May you always speak with love, even when angry.
And when you are angry, may you find the right people to complain with.
May no one share their opinions on whether your child is too hot or too cold
Or too skinny or too chubby
Or too clingy or too chill.
May you never have to pretend to enjoy every moment.
May you always remember that this too shall pass.
May the honey remain contained at the table,
May the sleep regression last only one night.
May you inspire your children to create the world our ancestors dreamed of.
(And may no one gift you slime.)
