Where did the last 12 days go?

Back in the old days, before inexpensive long-distance phone calls and instant communication via the internet, working full time meant going someplace outside of one’s domicile every day. To conserve vacation time for summer leisure, we usually went to work on the intermediate days of Passover. Because of the limitations on food during those eight days, those who observe have to bring from home everything they might want to eat or drink during the day. I remember leaving the house and boarding the train each morning of the intermediate days and feeling very nervous that I did not have enough food and something would go wrong. Needless to say, I always packed enough for two or three people, and I never starved. But the memory remains.

Fast forward to now, I no longer need worry about starvation, but the week still felt extremely busy and I could not seem to find the psychic energy to sit down, clear my head, and write. We returned to our New York home a few hours ago, have finished putting away our things and going through the enormous pile of mail (mostly junk, of course) and I am now going to do the best I can to play a bit of catch-up.

A couple of days before the start of the holiday, we took Joshua and Ella to see the newest version of Cinderella. We surprisingly enjoyed it much more than we expected we would. One aspect that was especially appealing was the characters were each somewhat different than the usual versions of the story: Cinderella, played by Lily James (a new actress?), was not just a damsel in distress, and the fairy godmother, played by Helena Bonham Carter, was endearingly ditsy. The most interesting character was the wicked stepmother, played deliciously by Cate Blanchette. Although we usually think of this movie as nice entertainment for little girls, this version had a very adult tone to it that made it fun watching for both the children and their grandparents. I just looked and was not surprised to see that the movie received a respectable 84% on Rotten Tomatoes.

We all came together at Simmie’s house for the first Seder on Friday night. Sabbath day we rested up for the second Seder, at Dina’s house, on Saturday night. We had a lot of fun singing all the familiar songs and listening as the children presented things they had learned in school, and of course eating the sumptuous meals our children prepared and served. As planned, we served our traditional “pizza” for Simmie’s birthday lunch. 

During the week, we did things with the children: went shopping, played games, and saw another movie: Home. This movie received only a 47% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but this is one time I think the reviewers may have been a bit too harsh. We rather enjoyed it; have we been seeing too many children’s movies lately? 

The weather did not cooperate too well during Passover. We had been hoping to do something outdoors but it was rainy and very cold every day until the very last one,  limitting us to indoor activities. One special highlight was that, following some conversations with her, we had bought Maya a recorder and started to teach her to play. She caught on quickly, and I will not be surprised if by the time we see her next she will have taught herself a good deal more.

Meanwhile, some quiet downtime will certainly be a change of pace. I have started to compile a long list of things on which I need/would like to get started. Working with Maya reminded me that I need to arrange to have the piano tuned.

Have a good week, hopefully with no more snow!

Love,

Rebecca