Shabbat -- Just the Three of Us

If you have not already done so, please read my post about What I Really Want for my Birthday

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In theory, I would have liked all my kids to be home for my bein-hazmanim-birthday-Shabbat.

But, I had not realized that would be this Shabbat, when I told my son he could spend Shabbat with his friend.

So, when A also received an invitation to spend Shabbat at her friend's home, I could not find a good reason to say "no."

I worried how Y would feel about being home all alone, with none of her siblings. She was THRILLED!! She was so excited to have an opportunity to have all of our attention! She was SOOO CUTE!!!

What a wonderful Shabbat we had!

Dinner was intense, as Y is questioning all sorts of things these days (she is a teenager, after all). I had to rest in the middle of the meal, and just went to put my feet up in the living room.... and drifted off to sleep. I do remember that Y brought me an extra blanket....

In the morning, Y & I had breakfast together. In addition to our standard cereal and milk, Y suggested we have jelly beans for breakfast. How could I resist her sweet smile? I succumbed. So, we ate jelly beans for breakfast. What fun!

Lunch was only slightly less intense. We still discussed all sorts of pressing issues. But with a lot more laughter. In the middle, Y showed us hand symbols for all sorts of animals. It was very entertaining. And fed into our silly mood.

Our friend TS came by in the middle of lunch, so that was fun too.

Soon after, I needed to put up my feet again. This time, both Y & I drifted off to sleep in the living room. We woke up in time for dessert!

In the morning, Y had told me that she wanted to play Pente in the afternoon. After lunch, I thought I would take a nap. But Y again expressed her interest in playing Pente. So, we spent an hour or so playing. By the end, she had figured out a decent strategy. The better she got, the more fun it was to play!

Eventually, I had to cut out and go lie down. It was ok. By then, it was only a short while before Y would leave for "sneef" (youth group).

I don't know if I can accurately capture the feeling of this Shabbat. It was intense, and fun, and serious, and light-hearted. We talked about all sorts of "real" things, and we laughed a lot too. It was wonderful.

At the end of the day, Y said "I liked being the only child! We should do this again!"



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA