Today is kind of bittersweet. It’s Amelia’s last day at the JCC. We had planned on letting her ride out this
school year until the end of May, but for a lot of reasons that I won’t go
into, it was time to make the change now.
For the first two years, it was a really great fit for us. And I credit
her teachers from the first two years for teaching her so much. I was expecting to be emotional this week,
but seeing as how two different strangers have been watching her class when I’ve
done pickup this week, that hasn’t happened. Not to mention the revolving door
of teachers that she has had since October.
But there are some really, really great things that I’m
taking with us today. I’m not Jewish as
everyone knows, but there are certain Jewish traditions that I have learned
over the last two years. And some of
them are really fantastic. A mommy
blogger that I love, Ilana Wiles, described her youngest daughter as “a big fat
Jewish sponge”. Meaning that even though they weren’t ultimately that
religious, her daughter picked up a lot at Jewish preschool that she brought
home. They have started implementing
more and more of what she learns in school, and it’s been really great for
their family.
So, I present to you, a few Jewish things that this Catholic
girl is taking away with her today.
- · First and foremost, the Shabbat dinner. The Jewish Sabbath starts at sundown on Friday and lasts until nightfall on Saturday. Not everyone celebrates with the same level of severity. (Very much like Catholics and Lent.) But I’ve found that I really, really like the idea of having one dinner at home per week that is kind of special. Traditionally, you use good plates, tablecloths, the works. I know most of us aspire to have family dinner every night. For most people it’s just not possible. But one meal? I think I can handle that. So if we’re friends, plan on being invited for a Shabbat dinner. Besides, Challah is freaking amazing.
- · With the exception of the High Holy Days (the Jewish New Year) most Jewish holidays feel a lot less stressful. I’m sure a lot of it varies from family to family, but I have yet to meet a Jewish family that gets as crazy over Hanukkah as we non Jewish families get over Christmas and Easter. Most Jewish families that I know take holidays way more in stride. It’s not a constant flow of bake this, cook this, take 16 days off for various celebrations, decorate the house from top to bottom… Hanukkah lasts for 8 crazy nights, but life goes on during those 8 nights. In fact, lots of Jewish families celebrate the holidays by going somewhere tropical and I am so down with that!
- · Challah is amazing (yes, I know that I have said this already.) Try it.
- · Mitzvot. I hope I spelled that right. That’s when you do something nice for someone. It probably has a super deep meaning and I am probably oversimplifying it, but my own interpretation is that it’s like paying it forward.
- · And last but not least, I can say Grace in Hebrew. Top that.
There are a lot of other cool things that I got to
experience by sending A to Jewish preschool. I’m glad that she got the
diversity of being around a lot of kids who are growing up in a different
culture and faith than her own. I’m
excited for her to start this new chapter in her life, and I’m super excited
that I am not going to have to make a twice daily drive down 18 from 77 to
Medina. I might still cry when I pick
her up today and drive out of that parking lot for the last time…But I’m taking
a lot of memories and lessons along with me.
