No, I am not a few months early! I am right on time on the Jewish calendar. Today is Rosh Hashanah. Today I am home sick. I can't deny that the only place I want to be right now is sitting on the couch in my mom's sunroom wondering if my kids are sleeping upstairs. Instead, I am in the Pitty and I know both kids are sleeping. The reason I am in the Pitty is of my own choosing. The girls and I were supposed to go home, but since SJ is such a hot mess (which may become her new nickname for this blog), I decided traveling right now was not the greatest idea. Which left us here and homesick.
Because of this homesickness, the holiday kind of snuck up on me, and I kind of fell down on the job last night. For Rosh Hashanah Eve, I was at the grocery story instead of services. My Favoritest was on call, and I was afraid that he would get called in if I went to shul. So, I stayed home. My lack of prior planning resulted in a fantastic meal of chicken nuggets for Doodle an pot stickers and rice for My Favoritest and I. Like I said, I fell down on the job.
This morning I woke up with every intention of making sure Doodle knew that it was a holiday in our house. It is tradition to have apples and honey to ensure a sweet new year. So, we put a new spin on that tradition this year. We had our apples and honey for breakfast before services. Doodle was syked about the apples for breakfast and while she tried the honey, she wasn't a fan.
We finished breakfast with a call to Bubbie and Zayde. It only made my homesickness worse! I then got all of us into pretty dresses and even managed to have time to take a few pictures before we headed to the tot service at our new synagogue.
My big girl so excited about her dress, her shoes (with little heels from Jenny's wedding), and about heading to services. I hope she never looses that excitement for going to synagogue.
Here is my first attempt at getting a picture of both girls. It didn't work out so well. SJ was not in the mood for a bink free photo shoot.
Like any good mom, I plugged that scream fest and tried again. Success. This is really the first picture of both kids that you can see both of their faces. It's going in a frame!
After pictures we headed to the tot service. Doodle had a wonderful time. She sang and danced and learned a little. I looked like a fool and cried thinking how much Bubbie would love to see her. I also thought about my grandmother and how much she would love to see us celebrating the holiday. As I watched Doodle dance, I even though about Zayde Irving (not my grandfather by birth, but part of my extended family) who encouraged my dancing in the front row of services when I was about the same age as Doodle. We finished the tot service and I dropped Doodle off with the rest of the kids and the babysitters. SJ and I made our way upstairs for adult services. My little hot mess lasted for a little over an hour. I got to kiss the Torah and then she declared she had had enough, so we packed it up and headed home.
The service was warm and enjoyable. It made me miss home, but at the same time made me feel closer to home knowing that the same prayers were being sung 700 miles away. For me, Judisim has always been as much about family as it is about faith. I am realizing that it is my turn to step up to the plate and help Doodle and SJ feel the same way. To all our family and friends I wish you a happy new year. May it be filled with as much love, joy, and happiness as your hearts can hold!
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