We had a great Shabbat. Our friend Rebecca picked us up before Shabbat so that we could easily transport our contribution to Shabbat dinner (chicken soup with matzah balls and challah: the first attempt in Israel; not too shabby, but not the best!). We davened at Shirah Chadasha and it was amazing. The singing is just wonderful and there were many people we knew. The melodies are lovely, some fast and some slow. You can sing as loud or as quiet as you want and you will always blend in. I imagined what it would be like to be there with family for Elan's Bar Mitzvah. We're not sure where or even exactly when it will be, but if it is with this congregation, we will have a wonderful simcha for sure. The added bonus was the rock-star sighting of Mr. Stan Beiner, the head of our Atlanta school, and the brother of our new head of school! We sent him home with warm regards for all our friends. If he doesn't pass them on, he's in big trouble. We keep tabs on that kind of thing.
The dinner lasted until a quarter to 12! Fortunately, I enforced our nap policy #4 which clearly states: If you need to be on good behavior at another family's home past bedtime, you will sleep in the afternoon. It was that or apple-juice valium. Nap accomplished, we spent dinner laughing, talking and telling embarassing family stories that included glass breakage (and not under-the-chuppah kind, in-a- fancy store/hotel kind where you return their kindness "Oh don't worry, it happens all the time!" with never showing your face there again unless in costume). We are lucky the kids are used to the walk...it only took an easy 2o minutes to get home in the cool Jerusalem night air. Lunch was with another family (Loren and I have both worked with the husband in various camp adventures) who wanted to welcome us to Israel. It is so nice to so warmly welcomed. They were even nice when we broke something...not glass, but we'll be able to replace it tomorrow and have another embarrassing story to tell over another Shabbat dinner.
We were all exhausted, but clearly had to enforce nap policy #7, again, clearly stating: If you went to bed late and are so tired you could puke, you cannot take a nap which would bring about a vicious cycle...you must stay awake. Sometimes this involves torture, but we were lucky to get off with playground distraction.
We read, the kids played and met a young Israeli with the sparkliest personality I've met in a long time. She spoke to Mira and Amalya (she was 7), not really minding if they didn't respond, and was soon working with them to create some concoction out of dirt, water and rosemary leaves. Mira was reluctant to join in. It amazes me that the most gifted friend-maker in our family sometimes feels painfully shy (manifesting in a stomach-ache or a general, "I don't feel good."). I reminded her that the first 18 seconds are the hardest, and what follows is always fun. She took the full 18, and then made friends with happiness.
This evening, in exhaustion's grip, Mira was the first to succumb to tears about the desire to return home. Fear about what is coming this week, and the feeling of permanence that school brings I'm sure will overwhelm us all at some point. We rode it out, and fortunately, she remembers that staying open to what comes really helps, and that sadness doesn't last forever (it lasted a whole 6 minutes tonight). Elan and I also spoke on Friday while were helping out at school. "It feels weird" was the most complex explanation we could come up with, but it seems to fit well enough. Starting school means were here, and not just on vacation. I hope the weirdness balances out with the comfort of routine. They will start on Wednesday! We will try to fit in a few more vacation mode activities before then.
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