Purim -- The Final Chapter

I have a post that comes before this one chronologically. However, since it is primarily about my daughter, I want to get her approval before posting.

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After Megillah reading at my daughter's school, we raced home to prepare mishloach manot (food baskets that are delivered to friends).

In past years, we did a lot of the prep work the day before (on Purim day, as opposed to on Shushan Purim). This year, on Purim day, I took one of my kids to a specialist (everything is fine -- it was just an opporunity to make the appointment without the kid needing to miss school).

So we were even less organized than normal, which is quite a feat, since we are not that organized to begin with!

I was anxious to get everything ready, because we were on a tight schedule. Moshe noted that I seemed a little stressed and suggested that I try to relax a bit more. As if on cue, my eldest daughter announced "Ima, it is so much fun preparing mishloach manot with you!!" (sometimes, if you are very lucky, your kids say exactly the right thing, when you need to hear it the most!!)

Friends started knocking on our door before we were ready! Had we had our mishloach manot ready, we could have given them on the spot, saving ourselves a few stops when we finally went out to deliver....

We were under pressure, because we were invited to a brit (brit milah -- ceremony welcoming a newborn Jewish boy into the Jewish community), and we really wanted to arrive on time.

We had only delivered about a third of our mishloach manot when I had to inform the kids that we would not have time to deliver all of the mishloach manot we had prepared.

At that point, my youngest piped up, challenging, "Whose brit is this anyway?" Clearly, attending the brit of someone she did not know did not interest her.

I tentatively offered the children another option. "Would you like to deliver more mishloach manot by foot and then join IS and her family for Purim Seudah?" (the festive Purim meal)

As one, the children vehemently responded, "Yes!"

When I had discussed this option with IS, she was certain that the children would rather be with us. I was not nearly as sure. Perhaps my instincts were correct, or perhaps it was just that important for my kids to deliver their mishloach manot. Either way, they were happy to walk around together and to have their seudah with their friends.

Even with the greatest of intentions, they could not deliver all the mishloach manot. So, later, when we picked them up, we delivered most of the remaining mishloach manot. (better late, than never...)

We still have a few that never made it to their destination. That happens to us almost every year.... *sigh* One year, I will be more organized!! (b'li neder!!)

Maybe tomorrow I will post this year's maskanot (the lessons I learned).

In any case, at the end of the day, we all had a wonderful Purim.

As they say in the Holy Language:

!היה טוב, וטוב שהיה

Haya tov, v'tov she'haya! (literally: "it was good, and it is good that it was," meaning: it was good while it lasted, but I am glad it is over!!)



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

With love and optimism,
RivkA