Family Traditions...

Dear Friends;

As many of you know, I come from a very eclectic family background. I am first generation American on one side and come from California founders on the other. There is an even bigger religious/spiritual/philosophical dichotomy that is woven into the tapestry that makes up the colorful fabric known as my family.

Tonight, I am attending my first Orthodox Seder at my brother’s home. There are going to be thirty people joining us for the services, celebration, and food. I am more than a little excited to see what traditions that my brother has started for his four children, and to see which he has carried on from our own childhood so many years ago.

My sister-in-law has been working diligently (read: like a mad woman) all week creating a new family Haggadah. And right now there is an assembly line across the long rows of tables to assemble them last minute. (Last minute is most defiantly a family tradition I remember…) As the assembly line progresses, the smells of food are permeating the whole house. Tons of old family recipes have been dusted off for the feast tonight. Foods that take hours and days to prepare and moments to consume… The tastes so unique that they linger on the tongue for days…

I have (happily) been placed with the kids. We have cleaned up the toy room (No small feat with four children and literally thousands of toys, art supplies, dress up clothes, stuffed animals, and books.) We have done pairs yoga to work out the excess energy and create more giggles than I thought possible and re-read some of the best parts of Harry Potter… Right now the children are enjoying a quick moment of sunshine by consuming a quick lunch al fresco…

Last night all the adults in town crowded around the big screen TV to watch a hysterical movie called: When do we Eat? I have not laughed so hard at a movie in years. It is about a “typical” Jewish family Seder… And so we all saw bits and pieces of what our family is like and were elbowing each other until our ribs were all but bruised. Oh, but it was good. If you have not seen this little known film, and have ever had to sit through a family Seder, then I strongly recommend taking the time to watch it…

And that, my Dear Friends, is where I am at today… Who knows about tomorrow… I have come to learn that my life is rather like the Denver weather. If you wait twenty minutes, it is sure to change. And does it ever…

(Which on a last note, was the point of a great joke that I played on my Dad before we flew into Denver…)

My Dad had spent every day for more than a week scooping out the weather on-line and printing out charts so that he would know what to pack for the trip. I told him at the start that he needed to pack clothes for every type, we would see it. He did not listen. After a week of the same question from my Dad asking me if I wanted to know what the weather was, I finally told him that there were no weathermen in Denver. This got his attention. He stopped what he was doing and looked at me.

“Really?” He asked…

“Of course Daddy…”

He asked me why this was so. I replied; “The weather changes so drastically, so quickly, that the weathermen were always wrong… No job security… No ability to accurately predict the weather. So they just did not have them in Denver.”

He paused and looked at me really hard. I am not one to typically tease. I choose to wait for the “right” moment to pull someone’s leg. Daddy looked at me for a good, long time. Then he got this huge smile on his face and started laughing.

“You’re teasing me!” he said.

“Yes.” I smiled and walked away.

After a week in Denver we have had sunshine so warm you delight in a tee shirt, snow deep enough to go sledding in, rain to wash away all the snow, winds strong enough to blow over full trash bins along the side of the house, and a chill so cold that you long to crawl into the fireplace to get warm.

But I am a good daughter. I only looked at my Dad and cocked an eyebrow when he commented on the extremes. I said nothing. Rather I am buying my time. I think I will create a super packing list for him to plan his wardrobe of his next trip. It will simply read:

Packing List for Denver:
·One of everything and a smile…
·Two of everything and a grin…
·Three of everything and laugh…
·Bring your closet and be happy…
Who needs the weathermen?