I feel like I can’t even put two sentences together. Passover has me worked. I’m tired of cooking, I’m tired of not being able to eat out (I know, I am spoiled, I know!) My stomach already hurts from matzah. That set in literally 24 hours into the holiday. Okay: I’m done kvetching. I just had to put that out there.
And, oh, here’s my lunch from the set of “The Big Bang Theory” the other day.
Mmmmmm. Matzah.
And yes, that’s Passover Coke. I don’t usually drink soda much at all, but this week, I need all the comfort food and beverage I can get, okay?
The Seders were good. My ex hosted beautifully. We led like we always have. My sons loved it, except when there was confusion about the scale and scope of the “I found the
afikomen
” gift which led to kind of a hot mess. But a little holding by the Dada and a little cuddling by the Mama made it pass relatively quickly.
Overall it was good. Little Man mightily made his way through the Four Questions, with First Born graciously passing the torch, since this is the first year Little Man has the verbal ability to articulate them. His teeny tiny voice is adorable, can I just say that? First Born was really into the Seder this year in a new and very involved way, and that was beautiful to see. He wanted to answer everything and was super helpful and joyous about it all. Bless that child.
We had another 8-year-old at our first Seder and she reads like a champ and loved participating. (There’s just something about hearing a squeaky 8-year-old reading about ending institutions of slavery and oppression that I find somewhat endearing in the way only a Jewish mother could.)
The highlight for me is always hearing my sons singing with the Yiddishized Ashkenazi Hebrew and Aramaic which is a mainstay of my family. As the grandchild of immigrants who almost exclusively spoke Yiddish, I was raised singing and hearing prayers with a heavy Yiddishized dialect. To hear my ex (who is a convert to Judaism) and my little boys singing, “Dzaw bin a baw, bisrei zuzay” like 90-year-old men in Borough Park is simply lovely in a very touching way. What funny things we pass on. What sweet things. What delicate things.
Happy Passover. There is so much to this holiday and it brings up so much. The ultimate in spring cleaning, I suppose. The ultimate in praying for redemption and renewal.
This totally made me think of this quote from “Lamentations” that my Zaidy used to love to sing to me. (Yes, Passover has me feeling like quoting from “Lamentations”–what is going on with me!?):
Hashiveinu Adonai elecha v’nashuva. Chadesh yameinu k’kedem.
Turn us, Adonai, to You, and let us return. Renew our days as You have before.
I’ll take it. With a side of stomach ache-inducing matzah I guess.
Chag Sameach!
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