The Boxer

During these last few days before Passover, I am always reminded of an incident from many years ago, before we had children. I was new to traditional Jewish observance, and, being a bit of a neat freak to start with, I ran myself ragged in preparation for the holiday. So ragged, in fact, that I found myself at the Student Health Service on the eve of the holiday with horrible cracks all over my hands. I still remember the nurse reprimanding me, telling me that I need to get away from the sink or at least use gloves. I still don’t much like using gloves but I try not to do too many dishes without them.

This brought to mind a wonderful verse that Simon and Garfunkel added to their song “The Boxer.” The exact history is a bit unclear, but it seems that they began singing the song with the additional verse in live performances not long after it was originally released.

Now the years are rolling by me, 
They are rocking evenly.
I am older than I once was 
And younger than I'll be 
That's not unusual,
No it isn’t strange,
After changes upon changes 
We are more or less the same. 
After changes, we are more or less the same. 

I may have learned to wear gloves to wash all those dishes, but what I cannot seem to learn is that it is time to stop trying to do so much. With our new family member having arrived so recently, we are relying quite heavily on catered food this year. But there are just still some things I feel I have to make for Passover to seem complete, such as sponge cakes (one lemon and one chocolate) and mock chocolate chip cookies. Add to that our traditional pre-Passover family dinner for this evening: mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese, along with fresh cooked broccoli and carrots, and our traditional second day lunch, a concoction called Pesach Pizza. Two years ago I was not able to make or enjoy any of this. So, exhausted as I am, I am very glad to be here with the our family in anticipation of this wonderful holiday.

I do spend a lot of time thinking about and talking about food, don’t I?

The weather does not seem to be fully cooperating, but we can still hope that by the end of the holiday we may finally see some warmer days.

Have a wonderful week.

Love,

Rebecca