Whew! It is now the day after the Spring holiday of Pesach for which we are told we do not need to do “Spring cleaning” but for which most of us do…the opportunity to organize/de-clutter our homes is spiritually uplifting…the more I throw out, give away or put in re-cycling, the better I feel! Due to the “Time Bank” in which I am a part, I was privileged to have an “organizer” come a few weeks before Pesach to help me organize my organization and decide who should do what when(between some students who helped and my own son and husband who were able to do more when the bakery worked less and less…) One difference between this year and all others was that I was able to go into the holiday a lot calmer than usual….feeling “on top” of the situation…
Although it is a “baker’s holiday”…Herby loves trying out Pesach recipes at home. This year he took over the “new”oven we had to get when our old one just konked out(of course right before Pesach) so that I made dishes on top of the stove while he used the oven. I made less than usual, our children brought a dish or 2 and helped a lot…
This was the first year that all children and grands were together(29 of us)…all but one family squashed into our home..we were lucky to find a home nearby for that one. Although it is nice that everyone could be together, it is simply too many for a seder when I would love to hear what grandchildren have learned. Having been at a smaller 1 family one last year, I am eager to go back to smaller, taking turns, less overwhelming Seder…We will have to be happy with everyone getting together at our annual Pesach picnic at Gan Sacher where the kids can play, run around, adults can gab, etc…This year we did it on the first day of Chol Hamoed which was wonderful. There was still time for those who wanted to travel, tiyul and go into the last day more relaxed(we used to get together on that last day of chol hamoed).
Wishing everyone a Happy Spring, getting back to routine, Happy Israel 70th Independence Day with much Health and appreciation of all the good in life….
Debbie Dan
Geriatric Consultant for Elderly Parents, Adult Children & Olim
Guidance about Living Options, & Community Resources
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Israeli Cell: 052-391-9328
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Email: debbiedan1@gmail.com
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I no longer host the big family Seder, which is every two years. My daughter has that honor. But this year I hosted a chol hamoed get-together which was really nice.
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