New Squares

It is that time of year again (thank G-d) where we plan and prepare for the New Year. For many of us (and count yourselves lucky if you are able to take this time to focus solely on self improvement) this means preparing 23 meals over the next month. This is one of those years where the religious days (first 2 days of Rosh Hashanah, first 2 days of sukkot, etc.) bump right up to Shabbos, creating three-3-day religious marathons over the next month. When you add up all the religious days and their meals it comes out to around 23 meals. It is something like trying to get ready for a snowstorm, three times over. So, I have made myself a little chart. There is a square for each meal where I can place who is coming (or rejecting….G-d help them) and what we will be eating. As my friend Kim says, no one can dial and order like us. 

Last night I invited my sister for one of the meals. She said, she would be out of town and suggested another day. That was not a day with a square. So I told her, you have to fit into a square. No square. No meal. Surely out of the 23 squares, she can find one to fit into? Actually she is already in 1 square, but as family, it is her right/punishment to be offered a 2^nd square. We also try hard to invite people who might otherwise not have a place to go, or “friends” who we feel “need” to be “Dannemized” and then throw in some ambiguous people, like “the Russian lady”. I’m sure she has a name, but with my not-so-good-memory (and have you ever noticed that Russian names don’t remind you of anything?) I have a hard time remembering them. Well, at least I know I have something to work on this year. So, as I am trying (really hard) to feel connected to G-d (and remembering Russian names), while chopping salad, finding special foods, and ordering kosher food on line, I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a healthy, happy new year. May you be sealed in the book of life AND one of my little squares!